22.914 million visits, up 20.4%: Observations on foreign visitor data for China in the first half of 2026

Half-year report: growth is still accelerating

On 10 July 2026, the National Immigration Administration released first-half data: nationwide inbound and outbound trips reached 369 million, up 10.8% year on year and a new high for History. Among them, inbound foreign nationals totalled 22.914 million, up 20.4% year on year; visa-free inbound foreign nationals numbered 17.815 million, accounting for 77.7% of inbound foreign nationals, up 30.6% year on year.

Compared with the full-year 2025 figure of «visa-free accounting for 73.1%», the share of visa-free entries rose by nearly 5 percentage points within half a year — the release of policy dividends is still accelerating.

Source market structure: the top ten countries contribute 62%

The top ten countries for inbound foreign travellers in the first half were: South Korea, Russia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, the United States, Japan, Mongolia and Australia, together accounting for 62% of total inbound foreign nationals. Short-haul source markets (Southeast Asia, Russia, South Korea, Japan) are dominated by high-frequency weekend trips, while long-haul source markets in Europe and the United States flow more towards high-value segments such as in-depth travel, Educational tour travel and medical travel.

City battlegrounds: strong growth in Chengdu-Chongqing and Shanghai-Beijing

The China Tourism Association's «Insight Report on the Tourism Market in the First Half of 2026» shows that in the first half, Beijing received 3.2727 million inbound tourists, up 32.6% year on year; Shanghai received 5.3149 million, up 27.8%; and Chongqing received 1.448 million, up 56.8%, leading core cities in growth. Central and western cities, with differentiated experiences such as Giant Panda, Food and Mountain City landscapes, are capturing a growing share of international visitor flows.

Policies continue to be strengthened

By September 2026, the number of countries covered by China's unilateral visa-free policy had expanded to 50, and the 240-hour transit visa-free policy covered 57 countries. Service-side Convenient has also been intensive: foreign arrivals can now fill in their entry cards online, seven provinces and cities are piloting online registration for accommodation other than hotels, and the acceptance environment for overseas bank cards and mobile payments continues to improve. Beyond tourism, cross-border Convenient in «medicine» and «pharmaceuticals» is also advancing — policies such as direct payment connections, direct insurance billing and international medical zones have been introduced one after another.

Medical travel: from traffic to retention

For inbound medical tourism, the 22.914 million visits in the first half represent a huge conversion pool. Industry data shows that, on the basis of about 1.28 million international patients treated at designated hospitals nationwide in 2025, the market is expected to maintain rapid growth in 2026; in Chengdu, medical institutions represented by West China Hospital have seen international patient volumes grow severalfold over three years, and the «tourism + medical care» combination is becoming a new reason for overseas patients to come to China. Dental implants, health check-ups, traditional Chinese medicine conditioning and rehabilitation are the categories with the highest conversion rates.

Three trends we see

• Content is the gateway: a genuine video of a medical experience on TikTok may do more than any advertisement to dispel international patients' concerns;
• Service is the moat: professional services such as multilingual accompaniment, medical record translation and rehabilitation-period itinerary arrangements are becoming the core competitiveness of inbound medical travel;
• The opportunity for Chengdu: top-three medical resources nationwide + the global appeal of Giant Panda and Food + continuously strengthened visa-free policies — Chengdu is fully positioned to become a China model for inbound medical travel.

As an inbound tourism and medical travel service provider deeply rooted in Chengdu, we are full of confidence in the second half.