Transformative growth is taking place in China's tourism services trade, as it shifts from scale expansion to quality enhancement

Amid a profound reshaping of global trade in services, China is demonstrating its commitment to institutional openness, while showcasing the dynamic potential of "China Services" to the world. The 2026 China International Fair for Trade in Services, held in Beijing from Sept 9 to 13, highlighted a transformation in China's tourism services trade, shifting from scale expansion to quality improvement, and becoming an important force driving the high-quality development of the tourism service industry. This evolution not only marks the progress and upgrade of the tourism industry, but also exemplifies China's effective implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and the adoption of a negative-list management model to drive institutional openness of trade in services.

In recent years, China's tourism services trade has delivered impressive results amid continuous opening-up. In 2025, there were 154.5 million inbound visits, including 35.17 million by foreign nationals, a 30.6 percent increase year-on-year; travel service exports surged to $55.16 billion, up 49.1 percent year-on-year, 1.6 times the 2019 figure, according to data from the Institute of International Trade in Services at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation and the National Bureau of Statistics.

In 2026, growth remains robust with 22.91 million entries by foreign nationals in the first half, up 20.4 percent. Among them, 17.82 million entries, or 77.7 percent, were visa-free. From January to July, travel service exports reached $39.3 billion, a 27.7 percent increase year-on-year, the fastest growth among China's top five service export sectors, according to data from the National Immigration Administration and the Ministry of Commerce.

This transformation is driven by two factors: institutional opening-up and digital empowerment. On the one hand, policies enhancing visa facilitation, tax refunds and payment convenience, combined with competitively priced Chinese goods, have made "China Travel" and "China Shopping" buzzwords on social media. On the other hand, digital technologies such as online travel platforms, smart scenic spots, digital payments, intelligent navigation and AI itinerary-planning are accelerating their penetration throughout the entire tourism service chain, reducing information search and transaction costs, and making tourism services more convenient, precise and personalized.

The CIFTIS cultural and tourism services exhibition included overseas services for the first time. It featured 413 exhibitors, including 49 foreign institutions, demonstrating the open and cooperative characteristics of China's cultural and tourism services sector. The cultural and tourism services exhibition of this year's CIFTIS not only showcases the open cooperation of international institutions in China's cultural and tourism market, but also presents the new practices of China's cultural and tourism services "going global", reflecting the characteristics of the two-way expansion of China's cultural and tourism services' opening-up of "bringing in" and "going global".

The explosive growth of China's tourism services trade is no accident; it is rooted in systemic changes brought by institutional opening-up.

First, the comprehensive establishment of the negative-list management system for cross-border trade in services has reduced the market access barriers for tourism services. In March 2024, the Ministry of Commerce released the revised national version (71 items) and pilot free trade zone version (68 items) of the negative list for cross-border trade in services. It consolidates access measures into a single list, ensuring management based on the principle of equal treatment for domestic and foreign services and service providers, enhancing transparency and predictability. For the tourism services trade, this helps to reduce the uncertainty of market access in the tourism and related service sectors and expand the supply of tourism services.

Second, the formation of a gradient opening-up system has expanded the space for cross-border supply of tourism services. The Hainan Free Trade Port, with the shortest negative list and highest openness, implemented "zero tariffs, low tax rates" policies, increasing the proportion of goods eligible for zero-tariff treatment to 74 percent after launching island-wide independent customs operation in December 2025. The pilot free trade zone version of the negative list has further made open arrangements in areas such as professional qualifications, professional services, finance and culture. For instance, restrictions on foreign individuals taking six types of professional qualification examinations have been lifted, and the proportion of Chinese members in the production crew of Sino-foreign co-produced TV dramas has been eased. This differentiated and tiered arrangement provides space for different regions to expand the international tourism service market by relying on their tourism resources and industrial foundations.

Third, the experimental effects of pilot free trade zones have been continuously released, promoting the diffusion of institutional innovations in the tourism service sector. According to data from the Ministry of Commerce, in the first four months of 2026, these zones contributed 27.4 percent of foreign investment and 22.3 percent of the total import and export volume, serving as test fields for innovation. The promotion of relevant innovation experiences can help reduce the institutional costs of cross-border operations and transactions in tourism services.

However, structural challenges remain. Currently, the proportion of inbound tourism revenue in China's GDP is less than 0.5 percent. A report, released by the Institute of International Trade in Services at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation at the 2026 CIFTIS, shows that China's potential market size is expected to increase by 1 trillion yuan ($149.3 billion) to 3 trillion yuan in the next 10 years. While institutional opening-up and digital empowerment continue to drive the growth of the tourism service trade, there are still several bottlenecks that need to be addressed in the actual implementation of related systems and digital services.

First, although policies such as linking foreign cards with domestic accounts are in place, foreign tourists still face payment difficulties in smaller markets.

Second, mainstream domestic online travel platforms often have over-simplified, outdated multilingual versions, hindering foreign tourists from booking tickets, finding transport and accessing emergency help.

Third, while the negative lists address access, there are hidden barriers. In tourism, issues such as business scope restrictions for foreign travel agencies, guide qualification recognition and cross-border data flow remain.

There are three policy directions for high-quality development in the tourism services trade.

First, leveraging the dynamic adjustment mechanism of the negative list to drive in-depth opening-up in the tourism service sector. It is suggested that the pilot free trade zones leverage the pioneering and experimental advantages to explore and implement a shorter negative list in the cultural and tourism sector, take the lead in broadening the business scope of foreign-funded travel agencies and pilot mutual recognition of the qualifications of Chinese and foreign tour guides. Their mature experience should be promoted nationwide through a gradient opening system. The Hainan FTP should play the role of a stress test, take the lead in aligning with international high-standard economic and trade rules such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and Digital Economy Partnership Agreement in the tourism sector, and establish a dynamic adjustment mechanism for the negative list of cross-border trade in services.

Second, connecting the entire chain of inbound consumption through digital and intelligent means. Functions such as payment, tax refund, translation, navigation and reservation should be integrated in a national-level digital service platform for inbound tourism.

Third, using CIFTIS as a platform to promote the export of "China Services" standards. This year's CIFTIS has for the first time set up special zones for overseas services at multiple thematic exhibitions, precisely responding to the profound changes in Chinese enterprises as they shift from exporting products to providing service support. The tourism services trade should seize this opportunity to promote the export of China's "soft power" such as smart cultural and tourism solutions, digital cultural and tourism standards, and digital protection technologies for cultural heritage, shifting from merely exporting customers to exporting services and standards.

Looking forward, addressing challenges through institutional opening-up, promoting the best practices of the pilot zones and leveraging digital innovation can elevate "China Services" in the global value chain, accelerating economic transformation and contributing to global growth.

Source: China Daily