The number of ports of entry applicable to the Shandong transit visa exemption policy has increased to five.

Jinan, December 18 (Xinhua) -- Shandong Province has added three new international airports -- Jinan, Yantai, and Weihai -- to its list of ports that implement a transit visa-free policy, bringing the total number of such ports in the province to five, Li Zhuqun, vice governor and first-rank inspector of the Shandong Provincial Public Security Department, announced at a press conference held by the Shandong Provincial People's Government on December 18. The stay time for foreigners using the transit visa-free policy has been extended from 72 hours and 144 hours to 10 days (240 hours).

　　Li noted that from the beginning of this year, a total of 1.486 million foreigners have entered and exited Shandong through various ports, a year-on-year increase of 61.1%. Among them, the number of foreigners entering through convenient policies such as transit visa exemption and port visas increased by 92.3% year-on-year, significantly boosting the number of foreigners coming to Shandong.

　　"Foreigners with transit visa exemptions can stay within the entire administrative region of Shandong Province and can also travel to other designated areas in 23 provinces across China that also implement this policy." Li introduced that Shandong has now built an international transportation hub that "covers Shandong, radiates to the Yellow River region, and reaches Central Asia, South Asia, and Europe." In addition, high-speed railways and expressways in Shandong form a ring, enabling one-hour access within the three major economic zones of the provincial capital, Jiaodong, and Runan, two-hour access within the province, and three-hour access to major cities nationwide, providing foreigners with quick and efficient transportation support for inter-provincial and inter-city travel.

On December 18, the Shandong Provincial People's Government held a press conference to introduce Shandong's optimized implementation of the transit visa-free policy to promote high-level opening up. Photo by Sun Tingting

　　Wang Decun, deputy director of the Shandong Exit-Entry Frontier Inspection Station, introduced that five ports -- Qingdao Jiaodong, Jinan Yaoqiang, Yantai Penglai, Weihai Dashuipo international airports, and Qingdao seaport passenger terminal -- have set up special areas for handling temporary entry permits, enabling "point-to-point" precise guidance and "face-to-face" processing for visa-free travelers. In addition, Shandong has also introduced new on-site signage for border inspection at ports, making it easier for foreign travelers to quickly identify and accurately obtain relevant information at ports, improving customs clearance efficiency and enhancing the customs clearance experience.

　　"We have upgraded and optimized the 'self-service terminal for foreigners to fill out entry cards,' allowing foreign travelers to use their smartphones to fill out their personal information in advance, achieving 'immediate inspection.'" Wang said that border inspection agencies have set up "passenger service stations" at entry ports, providing one-stop services such as attraction reservations, mobile phone card processing, and mobile payment, improving the convenience of foreign travelers in China and helping to create a first-class market-oriented, law-based, and international business environment.

　　The inbound tourism market has been the first to feel the "spring breeze" brought by the visa-free policy. Recently, the topic "Korean people love to come to China after work on Friday" has been trending. Qingdao, Yantai, Zhangjiajie, and Kunming have become popular tourist destinations for Korean tourists.

　　Sun Lei, vice director of the Shandong Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, said that Shandong will develop new products and characteristic items in new industries such as skiing, mountaineering, cultural relics, and golf, and will tap into popular consumption hotspots and creative scenarios with "human touch" such as food, wine, intangible cultural heritage, calligraphy, and festivals, launching more high-quality routes to meet and stimulate tourism demand with new supply.

　　"We are studying and formulating the 'Shandong Province's Incentive Measures for Attracting Tourists,' which will provide subsidies for receiving inbound tourists, inviting overseas inspections, and domestic and international publicity and marketing, giving full play to the guiding role of policies and funds, and improving the main players in our province's inbound tourism market." Sun said that Shandong will also conduct research on countries and regions with visa-free access and surveys on tourist needs, and will implement precise measures and carry out marketing and promotion based on the interests, consumption habits, and information channels of different customer groups.

　　It is understood that in 2024, Shandong held more than 30 cultural and tourism promotion and exchange activities in 19 countries and regions, organized nearly 500 overseas travel agents to conduct inspections and site visits, and focused on promoting inbound tourism products with the characteristics of four seasons, performing arts, and cultural relic studies, accumulating strength for cultivating the inbound tourism market.

　　In addition, in order to seize the new opportunities brought by the optimized visa-free policy, Wang Hong, vice director of the Shandong Provincial Department of Commerce, said that Shandong will establish a database of Shandong's superior export products around advantageous industries such as engineering machinery, agricultural machinery, tire auto parts, and green chemicals, and accurately reach out to buyers in the "visa-free circle." The province will invite global buyers to Shandong for direct sourcing, reducing the cost of market development for enterprises and improving the efficiency of order acceptance. "Before the Spring Festival, we will intensively organize 12 international precision procurement docking activities to release the policy dividends of expanding and optimizing visa-free access for Shandong's foreign trade enterprises to explore the international market." (End)