Hunan ranks first in Central China for inbound and outbound trips
2024-07-10
Among them, the number of outbound and inbound foreign passenger trips hit more than 440,000, representing an increase of 5 times.
The data show that foreign tourists entering China through Hunan’s airports mainly came from 115 countries, with South Korea, Thailand, and Malaysia as the top three.
From the flight data, the international passenger flights arriving at Changsha Airport were from UK, Kenya, Thailand, South Korea and so on.
Most foreign passengers arriving at Zhangjiajie Hehua International Airport came from South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines. Among them, the airport operated round-trip flights linking Zhangjiajie and South Korea’s Seoul, Cheongju, Mu’an, Busan and Daegu.
Why do foreigners come to Hunan? Wang Ying, deputy director of the Hunan General Station of Exit and Entry Frontier Inspection, introduced that about 90% of the reasons for foreigners to China are travelling, and others include business, visiting relatives and study.
In the first half of this year, Changsha Airport handled over 480,000 tourists, and 43% of them were foreigners. While Zhangjiajie Airport received over 240,000 passengers, among which foreigners accounted for 94.4%.
From January to June this year, Zhangjiajie received 622,600 inbound tourists and achieved inbound tourism revenue of 390 million US dollars, an increase of 164.87% and 253.89% year on year respectively.
“China has successively introduced various visa facilitation measures, which is one of the important reasons for the increase in the number of inbound foreigners,” said Wang Ying. In recent years, China has implemented visa-free policies to multiple countries.
In the first half of this year, Changsha Airport handled over 480,000 tourists, and 43% of them were foreigners. While Zhangjiajie Airport received over 240,000 passengers, among which foreigners accounted for 94.4%.
From January to June this year, Zhangjiajie received 622,600 inbound tourists and achieved inbound tourism revenue of 390 million US dollars, an increase of 164.87% and 253.89% year on year respectively.
“China has successively introduced various visa facilitation measures, which is one of the important reasons for the increase in the number of inbound foreigners,” said Wang Ying. In recent years, China has implemented visa-free policies to multiple countries.
On March 1 of this year, the visa-free policy between China and Thailand officially came into effect. In the first half of this year, 37,000 Thai people entered China through Hunan airports, 10 times higher than the same period last year, of which 82% enjoyed visa-free policies.
“It’s so convenient to exchange RMB here!” In March of this year, at the foreign currency exchange point of Changsha Huanghua International Airport, a European tourist highly praised this policy.
“It’s so convenient to exchange RMB here!” In March of this year, at the foreign currency exchange point of Changsha Huanghua International Airport, a European tourist highly praised this policy.
Here, he quickly redeemed 10,000 RMB in cash, the staff also guided him to download WeChat and the digital RMB app. European tourists can enjoy their services by logging onto the apps with their mobile phone numbers. Convenient services are becoming one of the reasons why foreign tourists love Hunan.
An increasing number of South Korean tourists also contributed to the surge of travelers to Hunan. In the first half of this year, about 110,000 South Koreans entered directly from Hunan’s airports, accounting for 52% of the inbound foreigners, with Zhangjiajie the destination for most of them.
“Since direct flights from South Korea to Zhangjiajie were resumed in June last year, the number of South Korean tourists has continued to grow,” said Deng Daoli, director of the Foreign Publicity Office of the Publicity Department of the Wulingyuan District, Zhangjiajie. Zhangjiajie has a high popularity in South Korea, and there is a popular saying in the ROK that links filial piety with visiting Zhangjiajie. Zhangjiajie’s services, and software and hardware facilities are in line with international standards and have been widely praised by foreign tourists, with many returning visitors.
Wang Ying introduced that as the summer travel rush arrives, the number of inbound and outbound flights will be increased, and the number of foreigners entering China through Hunan’s airports will continue to grow. Changsha Airport is expected to add 30 more international flights per week, bringing the total to around 180. New flights will be arranged to South Korean’s Cheju, Xiangyang, and Jeju and Thailand’s Phuket. And more flights will be operated between Changsha and Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Hanoi.
