Japan Travel Biz Hopeful about China's Visa Waiver Resumption

Tokyo, Nov. 28 (Jiji Press)--Japanese airlines and travel businesses are voicing expectations for an increase in visitors to China for tourism and business, as Beijing will resume its visa exemption for short-term stays from Saturday.

The number of Japanese travelers to the Asian neighbor has been slow to recover since the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the time needed to obtain visas.

"It's good news that the problem with procedures will be removed," ANA Holdings Inc. President and CEO Koji Shibata said Friday. "We hope travel to China will increase."

A spokesperson for major travel agency JTB Corp. expressed hopes for a rebound in tourism demand.

Beijing stopped the short-term stay visa exemption for Japanese nationals in March 2020 in the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since last year, it had been expanding its list of visa-exempt countries to include Singapore and European states, but Japan had not been included.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]