CCTV News: With the help of various favorable policies, foreigners' "China travel" and "China shopping" to China are ushering in another wave of boom. Many foreign tourists "group" to fly to China for purchasing agents, which has become a new trend in cross-border tourism consumption. Driven by the departure tax refund service, the flow of inbound tourists in China continues to expand, and the number of inbound travel orders on May Day increased by 173% year-on-year.

Shanghai: The number of foreign tourists has increased significantly, and Chinese-style goods have become popular

Since China introduced a series of visa-free policies last year, the number of foreign tourists entering Shanghai has increased significantly. In Tianzifang, a landmark that many foreign tourists love to check in, the dazzling array of Chinese-style products such as flower tea, porcelain, paper cutting, etc. are sought after by foreign consumers. German tourists interviewed said they wanted to come to Tianzifang to shop and bought silk scarves and other tourist souvenirs. She came to China 9 years ago, and a lot of changes have occurred in the past 9 years. Now she doesn’t need a visa, so it’s much easier for foreigners to travel here.

Since the promotion of the "buy-and-refund" service for departure tax refund in April, many foreigners "formed groups" to fly to China to purchase agents. Not only food, clothing, special crafts, but also electronic products such as mobile phones and computers are also popular with foreign tourists, and "Made in China" has also been on the "purchase list" of foreigners.

Guangdong: Overseas merchants of the Canton Fair fell in love with "China Shopping"

During the 137th Canton Fair, convenient financial services such as "buy and refund" for departure tax refunds and more and more tax refund stores have promoted the conversion of inbound passenger flow into consumption, making many overseas merchants fall in love with "China Shopping". Relevant people said that since the implementation of the 240-hour transit visa-free policy, as of April 2025, the departure tax refunds received increased by 137% year-on-year, reflecting the enthusiasm of foreign tourists to visit Guangzhou for tourism consumption.

Data shows that since the opening of the Canton Fair on April 15, the average daily order issuance in Guangzhou, a record high, an increase of 1.68 times from the same period last year. In addition, major brands have successively launched the "online self-service" tax refund model. After inbound passengers purchase their favorite products, they can directly upload relevant information and vouchers on their personal mobile phones in the store to complete the tax refund process.

Foshan, Guangdong: Watch the competition and taste delicious food. Foreign tourists have an in-depth experience of the "Dragon Boat Tour"

The dragon boat race in Foshan, Guangdong is famous and has attracted many foreign merchants participating in the Canton Fair to come and experience it. During the May Day holiday, Xibani, a foreign trade businessman from the Middle East, came to Foshan with his friends to experience dragon boat racing and taste the most authentic Lingnan flavor.