CHINA has extended its visa-free policy with immediate effect to tour groups from all 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) that visit the tropical paradise of Xishuangbanna in Yunnan Province, which borders Laos and Myanmar, for stays of up to six days. Tour groups from Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia, will be able to enter and exit China through the Xishuangbanna Gasa International Airport, Mohan railway port and Mohan highway port on ordinary passports as part of a tour group to the Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, the National Immigration Administration of China said this week. One hour after the visa waiver was introduced, the number of searches for Xishuangbanna on Trip.com’s overseas platform by people living in ASEAN countries surged 37% from the month before, according to data from the online travel agency. The 10 ASEAN countries account for around 20% of foreign visitor bookings, according to travel platform Qunar. Due to cultural similarities, many tourists from Thailand, Myanmar and Vietnam came to China during the eight-day Chinese New Year break which ended Feb. 4 to experience an authentic Spring Festival. As of Feb. 9, before the new policy was introduced, the number of bookings to Xishuangbanna from Southeast Asia so far this year had jumped two-and-a-half-fold year-on-year. The introduction of visa-free entry for the 10 ASEAN countries into Xishuangbanna is another policy innovation, after transit visa exemptions, unilateral visa waivers and reciprocal visa-free entry, online news outlet The Paper reported, citing Cheng Chaogong, chief researcher at Tongcheng Travel Research Institute. It is also an important way of further promoting inbound tourist flow. If the pilot program proves successful, this might pave the way for extending the visa-free policy to tour groups from other countries, such as those in Africa and South America, which do not have transit visa exemptions or unilateral visa-free agreements, Cheng added. (SD-Agencies) | 