International arrivals to Guizhou skyrocket after visa-free policies

International arrivals to Southwest China's Guizhou province rose 267 percent year-on-year in 2025, driven by visa-free policies and the recovery of international air links, the provincial border inspection authority said.

The officials recorded more than 74,000 foreign entries, including over 29,000 visa-exempt arrivals, a 275 percent year-on-year increase.

"Foreign nationals arriving at Guiyang mainly come for sightseeing, study and business," said Yang Yujie of the Guizhou border inspection authority. "Travel by seniors, family trips, and short excursions have become the main drivers of cross-border tourism."

During the 14-month policy period that began in November 2024, Guiyang's airport logged more than 2,000 arrivals from South Korea. That figure amounted to roughly 6 percent of foreign entries and represented a 46-fold increase compared with the same period the previous year. More than 80 percent of those arrivals came to Guizhou for tourism.

New international routes have also eased travel. In 2025 Guiyang opened two direct routes to South Korea (Incheon and Cheongju), bringing its total international passenger routes connecting to East, Southeast, and South Asia to 15.

To handle the surge in arrivals, the provincial border inspection department introduced fast-track clearance authorization and online foreign entry car submission.