Tourism to take off with China-US visa deal   

簽證10年有效 國人赴美旅游市場將迎高速增長

美國總統奧巴馬10日出席2014年亞太經合組織工商領導人峰會時表示，美國將實施對華新簽證措施，中國公民赴美商業旅游簽證有效期延長至10年。這一消息為中國旅游者和旅游企業帶來重大利好。[查看全文]

(ECNS) – Extending the terms of tourist visas will boost Chinese people's enthusiasm for visiting the US, experts say.

China and the United States have agreed to extend tourist and business visas to 10 years from one year, said US President Barack Obama on Nov 10 during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Beijing.

Prior to the visa deal, tourists and business people had to renew their visas every year, costing money, long waits and paperwork. An official website shows that each visa application costs $160, or nearly 1,000 yuan. Total visa fees amounted to 1.7 billion yuan ($276 million) last year.

The US is already on the list of top 10 countries for Chinese travelers, but the number of tourists is still small compared to closer countries such as South Korea and Thailand. According to the White House, fewer than 2 percent of travelers choose the US as their tourism destination each year, mainly due to distance, travel costs and visa issues.

The visa deal is set to boost longer and more in-depth tours as travelers are allowed to enter the US multiple times. The White House predicts that by 2021, the US will see 7.3 million Chinese travelers, who will spend $85 billion there and create 440,000 jobs.

Chinese travelers are already giving positive responses. On November 11, known as China's annual shopping carnival day, tours to the US were just as popular as those to Japan and South Korea.

The visa deal will also allow visa exemptions for countries such as Mexico, the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica.

Travel agencies are ready to ride the tide. Ctrip, China's major online travel site, said it has engaged in several mergers and acquisitions in the US as tourism is bound to take off.