South China's Hainan Province, a scenic tropical island, hosted a total of more than 380,000 overseas tourists in 2002, thanks to a highly favorable visa policy.
Since the year 2000, tourists from 21 countries have been able to visit the island for less than 15 days without a visa.
The 21 countries are Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea, the Philippines, Indonesia, Germany, Britain, France,Austria, Italy, Russia, Switzerland, Sweden, Spain, the Netherlands, the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
On April 1, 2002, the province initiated the visa-upon-arrival treatment for foreign tourist groups in order to tap its immense tourism potential, which has greatly increased the influx of overseas visitors.
Hainan continues to receive growing numbers of tourists from foreign countries," said Wang Qingsheng, a diver in Sanya city.
The growing number of foreign visitors to Hainan can be attributed mainly to the province's favorable visa policy, according to tourist industry employees.
(Xinhua News Agency April 1, 2003)
|
