To attract more foreign tourists in the country, China is considering expanding the current 72-hour visa-free rule and introducing more promotional websites translated in various languages, China's State Council revealed in a guideline.

The guideline, published on Thursday, indicated that the Chinese government is thinking of gradually expanding visa-free stays for transit passengers while fast-tracking visa processing.

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Said policy is already in effect in some of the country's key cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Kunming, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Shenyang, Guilin, Xi'an and Dalian.

Because of the decline in inbound travels in China, tourism authorities are thinking of ways to boost their numbers such as creating more websites that advertise the country's tourist destinations which are translated in several different languages.

China also plans to make the processing of business certificates in local tourism offices easier for foreign-subsidized travel agencies.

To apply for the current 72-hour visa exemption, foreigners from the 45 countries indicated in 72-hour Transit Visa Exemption Program should have valid traveling documents.

Their point of entry may be Beijing or Shanghai, depending on their preference.

A plane ticket with a confirmed date and flight seat for a third country or region is also mandatory as to make sure that the tourist is just visiting for the 72-hour allotted period.

This means that a foreign national who does not have a ready exit plane ticket to another country is not allowed to apply for the program.

European countries included in the program are Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherland, Poland, Portugal, Slovak, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

Visitors from Russia, Great Britain, Ireland, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine are also covered in the policy as well as those from the United States, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Chile.

In Asia, the Republic of Korea, Japan, Singapore, Brunei, United Arab Emirates, and Qatar are allowed to apply for the 72-hour program. Other countries covered include Australia and New Zealand.

Tagstourism, 72-hour visa-free, visa, tourists