China to Issue Visas for Inbound Group Travel at Authorized Ports

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, December 29, 2001

China to Issue Visas for Inbound Group Travel at Authorized Ports

Approved by the State Council, China's cabinet, from January 1st, 2002, foreign travel groups organized and received by Chinese international travel services may directly apply for group travel visas and go through entrance formalities at port visa offices authorized by the Ministry of Public Security.

Authorized Ports

Authorized by the Ministry of Public Security, port visa offices will be set up in such open ports: Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Chongqing, Dalian, Fuzhou, Xiamen, Xi'an, Guilin, Hangzhou, Kunming, Guangzhou (Baiyun), Shenzhen (Luohu, Shekou), Zhuhai (Gongbei), Haikou, Sanya, Jinan, Qingdao, Yantai, Weihai, Chengdu and Nanjing.

Procedure

According to sources, members of foreign travel groups may apply for group travel visas from port visa offices through travel agencies before he/she arrives in Chinese ports. Travel agencies should fax name lists of the groups to port visa offices three days ahead of arrival time. Offices will inform travel agencies of the approving result one day ahead of time. Port visa offices may issue the visas after travel groups arrive at the port, or finish the visas and deliver them to travel agencies 24 hours ahead of the time.

Travel group can board planes with "group travel visa form" issued by provincial tourism administrations. Before they enter China, the groups should submit their passports and group travel visa forms to frontier inspection stations.

Members of the groups do not need to fill in the "entry/departure registration cards". There is no limit to the number of the groups who are allowed to stay in China for no longer than one month.

Hainan: Visa Free for Foreign Tourists with Duration of 15 Days

Ratified by the Ministry of Public Security, the provincial government of Hainan has lately issued a preferential policy granting visa exemption to tourists holding private passports from 21 countries to make tours in Hainan with duration of 15 days.

According to the policy, foreign tour groups consisting of no less than five persons can make their entry into Hainan only by filling in a group namelist instead of individual registration form of entry and exit.

Foreign Tourists to China Over 42 Million in First 6 Months

According to China National Tourism Administration, increased foreign tourists and more tourism earnings were reported in China in the first six months of the year.

Statistics tell that from January to June this year foreign tourists descending in China totaled 42.8117 million persons/times, an increase of 6.87 percent over the same period of last year, foreign tourism revenue reached US $8.478 billion, up 10.68 percent over the same period of last.

By PD Online staff member Du Minghua

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