Zhejiang boosts inbound tourism with service reform

East China's Zhejiang province received 1.73 million inbound overnight visits in the first half of 2025 — a year-on-year increase of 21.3 percent — as the province rolled out its inbound tourism initiative aimed at improving visitor convenience.

The initiative includes one-stop customs clearance for tour groups, now requiring just six documents instead of nine.

In the first half of 2025, 6,046 group entry applications were processed — a 257 percent increase over the same period in 2024.

Zhejiang also launched all-in-one services for mobile access, accommodation, cross-border payment, and tax refunds.

The province now has 57,000 merchants that accept foreign credit cards — the highest number among all Chinese provinces — and has seen mobile payments by foreign visitors increase by 350 percent.

The "one-tap-to-stay" hotel check-in service covers over 10,000 hotels, with new pilot areas in Ningbo, Huzhou, and four other cities.

A user interface of Zhejiang Travel on WeChat. [Photo provided to ezhejiang.gov.cn]

The Zhejiang Travel platform helps travelers generate routes and receive real-time language assistance.

Meanwhile, the province's 721 duty-free shops have seen a nearly 196 percent increase in tax refund volume, with "in-store tax refund" sales up more than 3,700 percent.