U.S. citizen David Park became the first international tourist to enjoy the 240-hour visa-free stay policy on the Chinese mainland Tuesday, following the National Immigration Administration’s (NIA) announcement of relaxed transit policies on the same day.

At 10:59 a.m. Tuesday, Park landed at the Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport, having traveled from Seoul, South Korea.

Upon arrival, he expressed his satisfaction with the new policy during an interview, stating, “The 240-hour visa-free stay is incredibly convenient for foreign tourists. It saves the time spent on the visa application process.”

During his visit, Park plans to meet with professors at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen to further his academic and cultural exchanges.

“I believe this policy will be a catalyst for economic growth and tourism,” Park remarked.

Data from the Shenzhen airport show that a total of 520,000 international travelers entered China through the airport this year, an increase of 119% year on year. Among these visitors, 46% were covered under the visa-free entry policy, which was six times the number recorded during the same period last year.

Following the NIA’s announcement about the relaxation of visa-free stay policies and the addition of 21 new entry points for visa-free travelers Tuesday, there was a 43% surge in searches for inbound flight tickets to Shenzhen on Ctrip.com compared to the previous day.

The interest in traveling to Shenzhen was predominantly from countries such as Japan, South Korea, and Singapore. The HopeGoo platform also witnessed a significant increase in reservations for air tickets and other travel services.

According to data from www.ly.com, searches for hotels and inbound flight tickets by overseas travelers spiked by 87% within an hour of the policy’s release, highlighting the appeal of Chinese New Year to international tourists.(Han Ximin)