Beijing records 3.942 million inbound visits in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 186.8%

In 2024, Beijing recorded a total of 3.942 million visits made by inbound tourists, indicating a year-on-year increase of 186.8%. In 2025, Beijing will introduce 18 measures in four aspects to strive for a 5% increase in inbound tourist reception.

On January 13, Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism held a media briefing on inbound tourism, introducing the significant achievements of Beijing's inbound tourism sector in 2024, as well as detailed plans for further development and innovative initiatives for 2025.

Inbound tourism sector has been seeing rapid growth, with the tourists mainly coming from the United States and Russia

In 2024, with the boom of the global tourism industry, Beijing witnessed a surging number of cross-border visitors, with the city's tourism sector accelerating into a new phase of high-quality growth. In 2024, Beijing's inbound tourism market was marked by rapid recovery, achieving remarkable results. The city recorded a total of 3.942 million visits made by inbound tourists, indicating a year-on-year increase of 186.8%. Specifically, there were 3.35 million overnight visits and 591,000 single-day visits. The amount of the foreign exchange earnings of Beijing's tourism sector reached USD 4.91 billion, representing an increase of 151.7%, equivalent to CNY 34.94 billion. The major source countries include the United States, Russia, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, Germany, South Korea, and the United Kingdom.

New business models stand out, with tourism products centered around Beijing's Central Axis gaining more popularity

According to an official from Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, after the successful inscription of the city's Central Axis on the UNESCO World Heritage List, the tourism products such as "Strolling Along the Central Axis", "Cycling Along the Central Axis", and "Beautiful Central Axis" have become very popular. Beijing launched new business models, such as the representative projects of "Exhibition + Tourism" and "Competition + Tourism", 15 premium routes featuring "cultural tourism experience bases", the featured cultural tourism night tour project along the Liangma River International Waterfront, the trendy copyrighted toys of POP LAND, and Jingcai Lantern Festival. These new models stood out and attracted a large number of foreign tourists. Xiushui Street received 245% more inbound tourists compared with 2023, with sales reaching approximately CNY 1.6 billion, an increase of 60% compared with 2023. The Mutianyu Great Wall saw over 2 million visits for the first time, with those made by foreign visitors making up about 40%, a 200% increase compared with 2023.

New products highlight the "City Walk" themes

As a globally significant tourist city, Beijing places great importance on the development of its tourism industry. In 2025, Beijing will seize the opportunities brought by the 240-hour visa-free transit policy to strive for a 5% increase in the number of inbound tourists received.

According to an official from Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, Beijing will highlight the "City Walk" themes, and develop a number of leisure products and routes for night tours, cycling, walking, performances, and dining. The city will collaborate with well-known tourist destinations in China to cultivate the brand "Beijing - A Great Way to See China". At the same time, Beijing will utilize the brand "Hello Beijing", major global festivals and exhibitions, overseas tourism platforms, the World Tourism Cities Federation, the International Web Portal of Beijing, Visit Beijing's accounts on overseas social media platforms, and other channels to plan and launch a series of promotional materials, videos, and marketing activities.

Expanding the "circle of friends" for foreign exchanges to showcase the strong festive atmosphere of the Chinese New Year

Since the beginning of 2025, to promote inbound tourism, Beijing has implemented six innovative measures, including fully enhancing the exit-entry experience for foreign travelers, launching two innovative payment products, introducing the first "Free Half-Day Tour of Beijing" specifically for international transit travelers, introducing "Tourist Services" areas, carrying out "Happy Spring Festival" activities, and allocating CNY 10 million in rewards for inbound tourism.

The Spring Festival of 2025 is the first one after its successful listing as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Item. An official from Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism introduced that Beijing, seizing the favorable opportunity of upgrading the "Chinese New Year" to a "World New Year" and the successful listing of the Spring Festival as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Item, will send delegations to eight countries including Türkiye, Nigeria, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Estonia, Greece, and Italy to roll out the "Happy Spring Festival" activities from January 18 to 28 this year, which will include artistic performances, photo exhibitions, intangible cultural heritage displays, tourism promotions, and a series of flash mob photo-taking campaigns themed around the zodiac "snake", aiming to continuously expand the "circle of friends" in international exchanges and enhance the influence of "Charming Beijing".

The implementation of a series of measures will assist Beijing in achieving greater progress in inbound tourism in 2025, enhancing the city's international tourism appeal and influence.