Number of tourists in China 2018, by country of origin

In 2018, over four million South Korean visitors traveled to China (measured in person-times). South Korea remained the most important international source market for China's tourism industry. Japan, Russia, and the United States followed with around 2.5 million person-times. The figures included all visitors ranging from business travelers to people visiting friends and relatives. A significant proportion of overseas travelers visited more than four cities in China.

China’s inbound tourism industry

Over the past decade, China’s revenue from inbound tourism has been a cornerstone contribution to its foreign exchange income despite some fluctuations resulting from international relations. By improving its domestic travel environment, including among others more convenient public transportation and high-speed railways, improved hotel facilities, and refurbished tourist attractions, China managed to attract significant numbers of overseas visitors, with a record-breaking 145 million international arrivals in 2019. With COVID-19 gripping the tourism industry worldwide since early 2020, China’s inbound market was no exception. As the vaccination rollouts and other measures mitigated the impact on its domestic travel economy, international tourism in China remains stagnated due to high infection rates outside of China and recurring virus variance.

A sketch of China-interested travelers

Of the foreign visitors to China, almost half were aged between 25 and 44 years as observed in 2019. As for their destinations, in the same year, Guangdong province welcomed the largest number of foreign tourists, with approximately 8.6 million arrivals registered for an overnight travel stay. Guangdong’s innovation incubator, Shenzhen, led the most popular cities list for foreign travelers, attracting more than 12 million international overnight and same-day visitors in 2017.