Tourists in China
Tourists in China The tourism industry in China has been making more news than any other country in the contemporary times. From the perspective of the critics as well as the experts, it has been observed that this department is one of the very important target segment which China has been promoting off late in order to expand the ‘soft-power’. In other words, this has been targeted by the Chinese government as one of the means to extend influence around the world through non-military resources.
China has been systematically looking after these ‘soft-power’ resources for quite a long time now. Over the last few years, they have been spending $10 billion annually in order to promote the language schools as well as the different universities across the globe. Further, it has been promoting its entertainment industry abroad in order to generate foreign currency. But, lately, they have decided to put a lot of stress on the travel industry and keeping this in mind they have already started decorating China as one of the best tourist spots across the globe and a whole lot of work and brainpower is going into it. The only target is to bring in more and more foreign travelers like already famous destinations in Europe and Asia.
More Details
Getting into more details regarding the recent targets of the travel industry programs, it is nothing but looking forward to more inbound tourists which would mean more generation of foreign currency. The more the foreign currency is generated, the more economic stability would be enjoyed by the country. But, what has concerned the Chinese government off late is the fact that all these efforts are faltering.
The real story is that last year the inbound tourists to China has been increased only by 3.8 percent which is far lesser than both expectations and also in comparison to the other smaller Asian destinations. What has concerned the government, even more, is the fact that most of these tourists (counting up to 80 percent) has been from nearby Asian destinations such as Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. The findings have been that it has been globally thought that China as a tourist destination is not that welcoming to foreign travelers with all its rules and regulations in hand.
The visa process
is critical is a very important point in this case. While countries like the USA provides visa-free entry to nationals of 38 countries, China provides free entry to nationals of only 13 countries. For the rest of the countries, one needs to have a visa in hand before going to China. Then there are a lot of issues regarding the attainment of Chinese tourist visa from the perspective of different countries. Like, in case of a China visa from the US, the traffic is always on the higher side.
Primarily a payment of $140 needs to be made. But once you are looking forward to meeting your need for that amount, you need to be mentally prepared that you would have to wait in a queue for a very long time. To avoid the queue to an extent, you would have to pay a further amount of $100. This makes the visa to China quite a hectic and costly affair. Then from the perspective of China, the regulations regarding the visa affairs has been reducing foreign travelers to China by 70 percent as per statistics.
Regulations
Let’s look at some of the regulations regarding a Chinese visa from the USA for Tourists in China which has been mentioned by certain American citizens as too strong for comfort. The basic requirements for the Chinese tourist visa is an original passport valid for 6 more months along with photocopies of bio and emergency contact pages. Make sure that the passport photo isn’t stapled, taped or clipped. The details of your stay and your travel along with the tickets need to be mentioned in the designated points of the application form. If you are staying with either your friend or your relatives, you need to provide an invitation letter with all details including the name and the address of the invitee as well. Then further documentation needs to be forwarded regarding the purpose of the visit.
Financial Requirements for Tourists in China
There are certain serious financial requirements as well in order to be able to get a Chinese visa. Some of the requirements are like bank account certificate for the last 6 months, a stamped income tax return (ITR), Company ID, a certificate of employment. Providing all your details like the current salary, position and your span of stay at the company. Further, if a person is self-employed, he or needs to provide the authority with a business registration certificate.
Critical Documentation for Tourists in China
These critical documentation process has taken a big toll on the tourism department of China. There is a famous saying in America regarding the China visa that if you are through with the documentation process, there are minimal chances of your visa processing. We can understand the problems in hand quite a bit with this sort of sarcastic comments coming across from all over the world. Further, the Chinese government has complicated things even more with the recent political disputes with countries like Taiwan and South Korea.
One example that can be sited in this regard is the fact that recently China has restricted visits to South Korea over a spat between these countries over missile defense system. South Korea on their part has reciprocated by nearly boycotting china tours. As per the stats received in May, the tourists from South Korea to China went down by 42 percent. And what is more noteworthy is the fact that he travels from South Korea to Japan has increased by 85 percent in the same time frame.
As such, with a lot of political controversies in hand as well as a very strong visa rule in progress. In spite of all the trials and errors in hand, the inward flow of the foreign currency through the foreign tourists to China has not been up as per expectation. The government has to take immediate measures if they want to make tourism an effective tool to develop their economy.