Warm relations between France and China set to boost tourism
As hundreds of cultural and people-to-people exchanges will be held in 2024 during the ChinaFrance Year of Culture and Tourism, both countries’ tourism industries are expected to see a boost, said industry experts.
A series of activities covering performing arts, visual arts, cultural heritage and tourism promotion, among others, will be held. These include an opening concert, a tourism promotion event, and an exhibition featuring China’s Forbidden City and France’s Palace of Versailles, according to information released by China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the French embassy in China earlier this month.
Chinese and French governments agreed in November to provide greater convenience for personnel exchanges and promote people-topeople exchanges between the two countries to unleash greater vitality and produce more results.
China decided to implement a unilateral visa-free policy for ordinary passport holders from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia on a trial basis in late November.
From Dec 1, 2023 to Nov 30, 2024, holders of ordinary passports from the six countries may enter China visa-free for business, tourism, visiting relatives and friends and transit for no more than 15 days.
The visa-free policy represents a significant step toward global collaboration and understanding. Such an extension would not only benefit a larger cohort of travelers but mark a significant stride toward a more inclusive and cooperative international community, said Dai Bin, president of the Beijing-based China Tourism Academy.
The visa-exemption policy offers more flexibility and freedom, allowing travelers to explore and experience China at ease without pre-planning visas, and enabling businesspeople and employees to make last-minute trips for meetings, conferences and negotiations easier, said Dai.
Catherine Oden, director for China of Atout France, the country’s tourism development agency, said she is fairly positive about the resumption of Chinese outbound travel in 2024.
As a series of cultural activities will provide an excellent platform for celebrating and enhancing artistic exchanges between the two countries this year, various forms of art, including visual arts, cultural heritage, architecture, theater, dance, music, film, immersive experiences, craftsmanship and more, will be showcased, said Oden.
The China-France Year of Culture and Tourism aims to create opportunities for deepening artistic collaboration between the two countries and facilitate rich and memorable cross-cultural exchanges, she said.
The China-France Year of Culture and Tourism commenced as part of the 40th Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival in Northeast China’s Heilongjiang province in early January. The cultural heritage sites of both France and China, represented by iconic landmarks like the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris and the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, have been recreated as ice sculptures, adding a unique feature to the ice and snow festival.
Gary Rosen, CEO for China at French hospitality group Accor, said that China is set to become the world’s biggest tourism market. The group plans to expand its footprint in the country and diversify business growth.
“China is poised to be the largest tourism market in the world,” Rosen said via video conference. “Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it may be delayed by several years. But still China will be the largest tourism market in the world by 2035.”
“We are currently approaching 650 hotels in China and we are continuing to grow. China really does provide such an opportunity across multiple sectors of growth,” he added.
France is a major country in the European Union and China-France relations are a crucial link and a powerful engine in China-Europe relations. A robust China-France relationship can play a pivotal role in the broader China-Europe relationship, said Lu Shaye, the Chinese ambassador to France.