China is heading into 2025 with one of the fastest-growing tourism recoveries in the world, and it is travelers from across Asia who are propelling the boom.

From Thailand and Malaysia in Southeast Asia to South Korea and Japan in Northeast Asia, a wave of new visa waivers, flight resumptions and targeted marketing campaigns has turned the region into the primary engine of inbound arrivals to the mainland.

For Chinese destinations keen to rebuild after the pandemic slump, the story of recovery is increasingly an Asian one.

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Visa-Free Corridors With Southeast Asia Reshape China’s Inbound Market

Over the past two years, a cluster of Southeast Asian countries has rolled out generous visa policies that transformed two-way travel with China.

Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand each introduced visa-free entry for Chinese citizens beginning in late 2023, moves that quickly made them top outbound choices for Chinese holidaymakers.

In a sign of how tightly linked flows have become, China has responded with a web of reciprocal or streamlined entry schemes that make it easier for visitors from those same countries to enter the mainland, whether for short-term tourism, business or transit.

Tourism analysts say this network of visa-free and low-friction travel corridors has begun to reshape China’s inbound market composition. Instead of relying primarily on long-haul visitors from Europe and North America, arrivals are increasingly dominated by regional travelers who can reach Chinese cities within a few hours.

The upshot for 2025 is a structurally more resilient inbound market, with shorter booking windows and higher trip frequency from repeat visitors in neighboring countries.

Chinese tourism authorities have underscored that this regional strategy is intentional. By prioritizing mutual visa facilitation with nearby partners, officials are betting that Asia’s rising middle classes will continue to drive growth even if global economic conditions soften.

Travel companies, from major online platforms to regional airlines, are aligning their capacity and product offerings around that thesis, focusing promotions on multi-country Asian itineraries that feature China as the centerpiece or key leg of a larger journey.

Thailand Leads the Charge as Both Source and Partner for China

Thailand has emerged as the most visible symbol of this deepening tourism interdependence. In outbound terms, it was one of the first destinations to fully capitalize on China’s reopening, becoming a favored escape for Chinese travelers drawn by beaches, food and relatively low prices.

Inbound, the relationship has become more balanced as Thai carriers, tour operators and independent travelers increasingly treat China as a primary regional destination in its own right.

Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket now anchor some of the densest flight networks into China outside of Hong Kong and Macao, with airlines restoring or even exceeding pre-pandemic seat capacity on key routes to Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Kunming.

The elimination of visa fees for many Chinese travelers to Thailand, combined with frequent promotional sales, has pushed average load factors sharply higher.

In parallel, simplified Chinese visa procedures for Thai nationals, especially for group and business travel, have made it easier for Thai visitors to explore Chinese cities beyond the usual gateways.

Industry executives say a new pattern is emerging for 2025: multi-stop itineraries that pair Thailand and China on a single trip, particularly among younger Southeast Asian travelers and diaspora communities.

For example, Thai tourists may combine a shopping and food-focused weekend in Shanghai with a longer beach holiday back home or in neighboring countries.

This two-way elasticity is reinforcing flight economics and encouraging further capacity additions, feeding a positive cycle of more routes, more competition and lower fares that support China’s inbound rebound.

South Korea and China Create a High-Growth, Visa-Free Travel Corridor

Nowhere is the policy-driven surge in arrivals more striking than between South Korea and China. Beijing’s decision to grant South Korean citizens short-term visa-free entry for up to 15 days, effective from November 2024, quickly changed travel dynamics.

Within months, Korean visitor numbers to China were reported to be up sharply, aided by the removal of application costs and paperwork that previously discouraged short city breaks and spontaneous trips.

Seoul has responded in kind. After months of deliberation, the South Korean government approved a broad temporary visa-free scheme for Chinese tour groups, officially launched on September 29, 2025 and scheduled to run through June 30, 2026.

Under the rules, Chinese groups of three or more travelers, arranged by authorized agencies, can enter South Korea and remain for up to 15 days without visas, while Jeju Island continues to admit Chinese visitors visa-free for up to 30 days.

Korean authorities estimate that the measure could add around one million extra Chinese visitors by mid-2026, lifting hotel occupancy and retail sales in key cities.

For China, the impact is felt both indirectly, through stronger regional airline economics, and directly, via reciprocal demand.

Air travel between the two countries has been ramping up in anticipation of sustained high traffic. Major carriers now operate close to pre-pandemic levels of weekly flights on China–Korea routes, supporting a steady stream of Korean visitors into Chinese cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Qingdao and Xi’an.

Travel industry data suggests that many preferred Korean itineraries in China still revolve around classic cultural hubs and shopping, but 2025 is also seeing growth in niche segments like wellness retreats in Hainan and ski trips in northeastern provinces.

Japan, Singapore and Malaysia Power Northeast and Southeast Asian Arrivals

While visa policies and geopolitics have at times complicated tourism flows between China and Japan, 2024 and 2025 have brought a measured normalization, particularly in air connectivity.

Japanese carriers and Chinese airlines serving Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka have restored most regional routes, with additional frequencies clustered around peak seasons such as cherry blossom and autumn foliage periods. For inbound China, this renewed connectivity is crucial.

It gives Japanese travelers, who tend to be high-spending and experience-oriented, easier access to emerging Chinese destinations that market themselves as cultural and culinary counterpoints to Japan’s own heritage sites.

Singapore and Malaysia, meanwhile, stand out as Southeast Asia’s most statistically significant contributors to China’s Asian-led tourism boom. Singapore recorded well over a million Chinese arrivals in 2024 and remains one of China’s largest outbound markets in the region.

Thanks to a dense web of connections operated by full-service and low-cost carriers, Singaporean and Malaysian travelers now treat Chinese cities like Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Xiamen and Shanghai as short-hop getaways for shopping, food tours and business meetings.

Malaysian arrivals to China in particular are expected to grow robustly in 2025, supported by easier entry procedures and aggressive airfare promotions.

Tourism marketing bodies from these countries have also become more active inside China, co-hosting roadshows and digital campaigns with Chinese partners.

The reciprocal effort is paying off. Singaporean and Malaysian tourism agencies report increased interest among their citizens in multi-stop East Asian itineraries that combine a few days in Chinese cities with onward travel to Japan or South Korea.

Each of these trips counts as an inbound arrival for China, and collectively they are helping push Asia’s contribution to China’s international visitor mix to new highs.

China’s Big Cities Log Millions of Arrivals as Recovery Outpaces Expectations

Behind the policy headlines, hard numbers from China’s major destinations illustrate just how far the inbound market has come. Official tourism data for 2024 shows that cities such as Shenzhen and Shanghai each welcomed millions of inbound overnight visitors, with Shenzhen alone reporting close to 10 million inbound overnight tourists for the year and Shanghai receiving several million more.

Many of these arrivals were regional travelers from neighboring Asian markets, including Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Southeast Asian nations, underscoring the extent to which China’s recovery has been driven from within the region.

Shanghai and Beijing remain the top magnets for foreign visitors by volume, thanks to their international air links, museums, retail offerings and global event calendars.

Yet second-tier cities are quietly outperforming expectations. Tourist hubs like Hangzhou, Xiamen, Zhuhai and Zhangjiajie have seen inbound figures climb back to or above pre-pandemic levels, helped by dedicated flight links from regional Asian markets and targeted social media campaigns.

For many visitors from Thailand, Malaysia or South Korea, these destinations offer a fresh alternative to more familiar megacities while still providing the infrastructure and service standards international travelers expect.

Tourism consultants say the pattern suggests a more diversified inbound landscape taking shape for 2025. Rather than clustering solely in a handful of gateways, Asian visitors are spreading out across China’s coastal and interior cities, supported by high-speed rail and low-cost regional flights.

This broad-based distribution is welcome news for local economies that depend heavily on tourism spending, and it reduces the risk of overcrowding and overtourism that plagued some Chinese landmarks before 2020.

Airlines and Travel Platforms Race to Capture Surging Regional Demand

The rapid growth in Asian arrivals to China has triggered a wave of capacity adjustments and product innovation across the aviation and travel-tech sectors. Airlines in China, South Korea, Japan, Singapore and Thailand have been adding flights and upgauging aircraft on regional routes with strong Chinese demand.

By late 2025, major Korean carriers had recovered roughly 90 percent of their pre-pandemic frequency to Chinese destinations, and Southeast Asian airlines have followed similar trajectories on trunk routes linking Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and key Chinese hubs.

Low-cost carriers are playing an outsized role in cementing the boom. Budget airlines have used their flexible fleets to restore secondary routes where point-to-point demand from Asian travelers is especially strong, such as between smaller Chinese cities and beach or cultural destinations in Southeast Asia.

Competitive pricing has encouraged more frequent short trips, particularly among younger travelers from across the region who use long weekends and public holidays to explore Chinese cities they once would have considered long-haul destinations.

Online travel agencies and booking platforms are evolving just as quickly. Chinese giants and regional competitors now prominently feature China-centric packages marketed to Asian travelers, bundling high-speed rail passes, city passes and curated food tours with flights and hotels.

Many products are explicitly built around the new visa-free and visa-simplified corridors, highlighting the convenience of combining China with neighboring countries in a single booking.

For 2025, several platforms report that cross-border package bookings involving China and at least one other Asian country have surpassed 2019 levels, indicating strong structural demand.

Vietnam and Other Regional Players Add Momentum to China’s Tourism Upswing

Beyond the headline markets of Thailand, South Korea, Japan, Singapore and Malaysia, a wider cast of Asian countries is adding significant momentum to China’s inbound trajectory. Vietnam, which recorded record foreign arrivals in 2025, has seen China reclaim its position as a leading source of tourists.

In return, Vietnamese visitor numbers to China are rising, aided by improved air links and a growing appetite among Vietnamese travelers for shopping, cultural and religious tourism in Chinese cities and border regions.

Indonesia, the Philippines and India are also becoming more prominent in China’s regional tourism calculus. Each country benefits from policy gestures such as reduced visa fees, group visa waivers or expanded categories of electronic visas, making it easier for tour operators to design China-inclusive packages.

Combined with demographic factors, especially the large youth populations in these emerging markets, the result is a pipeline of potential visitors whose travel spending is expected to grow over the coming decade.

Tourism boards across Asia are increasingly viewing China not just as a source of outbound tourists but as a partner in circular travel flows.

Cooperative marketing campaigns, codeshare agreements between airlines, and city-to-city partnerships are all aimed at sustaining the boom in both directions.

For China, this regional web of tourism diplomacy is proving as important as any single bilateral deal, creating a dense network of routes and relationships that collectively underpin the 2025 boom in inbound arrivals.

As 2025 unfolds, several clear behavioral and structural trends are shaping how Asian travelers experience China. One is the shift toward younger, more independent travelers from across the region.

Data from major travel platforms covering Chinese outbound and inbound traffic shows that the majority of customers are under 45, with particularly strong representation among those born in the 1980s and 1990s.

These visitors are digital-first, comfortable managing trips via mobile apps, and more likely to prioritize unique experiences over traditional group sightseeing.

This demographic shift dovetails with growing interest in themed travel. Eco-focused trips to China’s national parks and rural homestays, culinary tours in cities known for regional cuisines, and culture-rich itineraries built around museums, festivals or study tours are all gaining traction among Asian visitors.

Increasingly, regional tourists are using China’s extensive high-speed rail network to stitch together multi-city journeys that might include Shanghai and Suzhou, or Chengdu and Chongqing, within a single short stay enabled by visa-free rules.

Spending patterns are evolving as well. Tourism economists note that while headline arrival numbers from Asia are rising quickly, average per-trip spending is also holding up, supported by strong interest in shopping, wellness, and food and beverage experiences.

Chinese destinations that invest in digital payment interoperability, language support and social media-friendly attractions appear especially well placed to capture this demand.

With air connectivity still expanding and more policy liberalization under discussion, most analysts expect China’s Asian-led inbound boom to extend beyond 2025.

FAQ

Q1. Why are Asian countries driving China’s tourism boom in 2025?
Asian countries are driving China’s tourism boom because of geographic proximity, expanded flight networks, and a wave of visa-free or simplified entry policies on both sides. Short travel times and competitive airfares make weekend and short-stay trips feasible, while rising middle-class incomes across Asia support steady demand for regional travel.

Q2. How important are Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia in China’s inbound recovery?
Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia are central to China’s rebound, both as top destinations for Chinese outbound travel and as growing sources of inbound visitors. Dense air connectivity, reciprocal visa facilitation, and active marketing campaigns have positioned travelers from these countries as some of the most reliable and fastest-growing segments of China’s inbound market.

Q3. What impact does South Korea’s visa-free program for Chinese tour groups have on China?
South Korea’s visa-free program for Chinese tour groups strengthens two-way tourism flows that benefit China indirectly and directly. The policy encourages airlines to expand capacity on China–Korea routes, supports joint tour products, and reinforces Beijing’s own visa-free access for Korean visitors, which in turn brings more Koreans into Chinese cities for short stays.

Q4. Are Japanese travelers returning to China in significant numbers?
Japanese travelers are returning gradually, aided by the restoration of key air routes and pent-up demand for regional trips. While volumes have yet to fully match pre-pandemic peaks, Japan remains an important high-spending source market. Many Japanese visitors are focusing on culturally rich Chinese destinations and city breaks that tie into broader East Asian itineraries.

Q5. Which Chinese cities are seeing the strongest inbound growth from Asia?
Major gateways like Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen and Guangzhou continue to attract the highest volumes of Asian visitors, but secondary cities such as Hangzhou, Xiamen, Zhuhai and Zhangjiajie are recording some of the fastest growth. Improved air and rail connectivity is enabling Asian travelers to explore beyond the traditional big-city circuit.

Q6. How have online travel agencies influenced the surge in regional arrivals to China?
Online travel agencies have made it easier for Asian travelers to book China trips by bundling flights, hotels, rail passes and experiences into one purchase. They also highlight visa-free and simplified entry policies in their marketing, promote multi-country itineraries centered on China, and tailor content and payment options to regional preferences.

Q7. What types of experiences are most popular among Asian tourists visiting China?
Popular experiences include city sightseeing, food and nightlife tours, shopping-focused itineraries, eco-tourism in scenic areas, and cultural or study-focused trips to historic cities. Younger travelers often seek out social media-friendly attractions and authentic neighborhood experiences rather than traditional large-group bus tours.

Q8. Is China’s inbound tourism from Asia already above 2019 levels?
In aggregate, China’s inbound tourism has not fully exceeded 2019 levels, but individual cities and segments have. Some destinations known for strong regional links report inbound figures at or above pre-pandemic benchmarks, particularly where travel is driven by visitors from nearby Asian economies with strong flight connections.

Q9. How long will current visa-free arrangements likely remain in place?
Many visa-free or fee-waiver programs have fixed timelines, such as South Korea’s temporary waiver for Chinese tour groups through mid-2026 and China’s own short-stay waivers for certain nationalities currently set through the end of 2025. However, officials in several countries have hinted that successful pilot schemes could be extended or transformed into more permanent arrangements.

Q10. What risks could slow the Asian-driven boom in China’s inbound tourism?
Risks include geopolitical tensions, changes in visa policy, economic slowdowns that curb discretionary travel spending, and operational issues such as airline capacity constraints or airport bottlenecks. Environmental concerns and overtourism in certain hotspots could also shape how and where travelers choose to visit within China, even if overall regional demand remains strong.