China handles 110 mln entry-exit trips during summer vacation

BEIJING, Sept. 3 (Xinhua) — Chinese border ports saw a whopping 110 million inbound and outbound trips during July and August, averaging nearly 1.78 million per day, the country’s National Immigration Administration (NIA) said Tuesday.
The highest daily number of inbound and outbound travelers reached nearly 2.24 million on Aug. 24, accounting for 97.2 percent of the historical peak.
A total of 10.89 million trips were made by foreigners, marking a 52.8 percent increase from last year. In addition, visa-free inbound trips by foreign visitors (excluding residents of border regions) surged to about 1.96 million, up 117 percent compared to the same period last year.
The surge in travelers is due to China’s mutual visa exemption agreements with other countries, the 144-hour visa-free transit policy and other favorable policies, which has attracted visitors for summer vacations.
The NIA noted that border ports nationwide took proactive measures to forecast entry-exit traffic, operate sufficient checkpoints for travelers and effectively mitigate the impact of extreme weather on the customs clearance process. ■