Sanya, China Promotes Itself as a Visa-Free Tourism Destination

Last updated on 29 August 2019

A five-member business delegation from China’s tourist destination city of Sanya, Hainan, is paying a visit to Latvia, Croatia and Hungary from August 21st to 29th, as part of Sanya’s efforts to promote its vast treasure trove of tourism resources in the Baltics and Nordic countries, with the goal of strengthening cooperation and business exchanges between Sanya and the cities in these two regions.

The delegation is led by Rong Liping, Chairwoman of Sanya Municipal Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and accompanied by officials from Sanya Municipal Committee of CPPCC, the Sanya Tourism, Culture, Radio, Television and Sports Bureau, and the Sanya Municipal Commerce Bureau.

From August 21st to 22nd, the delegation visited Latvia’s Ministry of Transport, the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia, and Riga International Airport. The delegation was warmly received by the director of the Aviation Department of Latvia’s Ministry of Transport Arnis Muiznieks, the General Director of Investment and Development Agency Andris Ozols and Riga International Airport Chairman of Board Ilona Lice.

On August 23rd, the Sanya City (Riga) Promotion Event, one of the delegation’s initiatives to expand knowledge of the city’s many features with special appeal to tourists beyond the Chinese mainland, was held at the Radisson Blu Latvija Hotel in Riga.

More than 60 guests, including Sun Yinglai, Chargé d’affaires a.i. of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Republic of Latvia and Shen Xiaokai, Economic and Commercial Counsellor at the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Republic of Latvia, Arturs Kokars, Advisor of the Board at Riga International Airport, Marta Ivaninoka-Cjina, Culture and Tourism Representative in China at the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia and representatives of Latvia’s Chinese communities, in addition to tourism industry and media representatives from Latvia, Finland and Lithuania, were invited to participate in the promotional event.

In her speech at the event, Ms. Rong highlighted Sanya’s visa-free policies for citizens from 59 countries (of which Latvia is one) and the features of Sanya that are particularly appealing to tourists and vacationers, concluding that “It’s hard to fully describe in words the beauty, the vitality and the prospects of Sanya as a tourism destination.” The Chinese Embassy’s Economic and Commercial Counsellor Mr. Shen and Riga International Airport Advisor of Board Mr. Kokars also delivered speeches, expressing their support for collaborative exchanges and direct flights between Sanya and Riga.

Maksims Pipekevics, a representative from a travel agency, said at the event that “The three countries along the Baltics and the Nordic countries are all visa-free countries for travelers going to Hainan Province. Tourists from these countries do not need to take time to apply for visas and can stay in Sanya for up to 30 days. Sanya’s visa-free tourism policy will become a major selling point.”

Since the beginning of the year, Sanya has been actively organizing tourism promotion activities to help Sanya’s tourism firms expand their international reach, attract foreign investment, as well as set up marketing channels and promotion centers overseas.

The city has teamed up with the world’s best-known tourism agencies, including Thomas Cook and Colatour, to launch tourism roadshows around the world. Promotion centers are already in operation in regions and countries including Taiwan Province, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan and India.