China Unveils Tourism Powerhouse Plan for 2030

China has issued its first-ever national-level special plan themed around building a “tourism powerhouse,” setting ambitious targets to transform the country into a leading global tourism destination by 2030. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism formally released the “15th Five-Year Plan for Building a Tourism Powerhouse” on July 8, 2026, following State Council approval on June 29.

The plan, designated under official document number 文旅资源发〔2026〕42号, outlines sweeping targets for the next five years. By 2030, China aims to achieve 8.3 billion domestic tourist trips with spending reaching 7.7 trillion yuan (approximately $1.06 trillion), while inbound tourist arrivals are targeted at 190 million with total spending exceeding $150 billion, according to Xinhua News Agency.

A New Strategic Vision for Tourism

This plan marks a significant departure from previous approaches. Unlike earlier five-year plans that focused on tourism within broader economic frameworks, this is the first national-level special plan explicitly centered on the concept of a “tourism powerhouse.” The strategy emphasizes a shift from scale expansion to quality and efficiency improvement.

“In the past, we focused more on incremental investment; now we need to focus more on revitalizing existing assets,” said Zeng Bowei, Director of the China Tourism Economy and Policy Research Center at Beijing Union University, as reported by Beijing Daily / CCTV News. “During the ‘15th Five-Year Plan’ period, the emphasis is more on quality and efficiency itself, rather than simple scale expansion.”

The plan builds on strong momentum from 2025, when China recorded 154.5 million inbound tourist arrivals — a 17.1% year-on-year increase — and inbound tourism spending of $131.1 billion, surging 39.2% from the previous year, according to TravelChinaGuide. Domestic trips reached 6.522 billion, with domestic spending of 6.3 trillion yuan.

Key Policy Initiatives

The plan outlines several major policy directions aimed at making travel more accessible and enjoyable for both domestic and international visitors.

Visa Liberalization: China will continuously optimize visa-free policies and steadily expand the scope of visa-free countries. By the end of 2025, China had already offered visa-free access to citizens of 77 countries, with 30.08 million foreign visitors entering visa-free — accounting for 73.1% of all foreign tourist arrivals, as reported by the Global Times.

Infrastructure Expansion: The plan calls for opening new international air routes and tourism special trains, increasing flights and transport capacity to accommodate the projected surge in visitors.

Workforce Development: Intensified training of foreign-language tour guides and widespread application of intelligent translation equipment will help bridge communication gaps for international travelers.

Brand Building: The initiative promotes “Chinese hospitality” (中国式待客之道) and aims to cultivate the “China Service” brand, blending international standards with distinctive Chinese cultural characteristics.

Legal Framework: The plan calls for revision of the Tourism Law of the People’s Republic of China, signaling a push for stronger regulatory foundations.

Expert Analysis: Quality Over Quantity

Industry experts emphasize that the plan represents a strategic pivot from China’s historical focus on volume-driven growth.

Dai Bin, President of the China Tourism Academy, highlighted the spatial dimension of the strategy: “We need to coordinate land and sea, make good use of our traditional cultural corridors, geographical corridors, and the ‘eight vertical and eight horizontal’ railway corridors to build a new tourism spatial pattern that coordinates land and sea, harmonizes urban and rural areas, and enables three-dimensional travel.”

Li Xinjian, Executive Dean of the Capital Culture and Tourism Development Research Institute at Beijing International Studies University, stressed the importance of work-life balance policies: “Further promote the implementation of the paid annual leave system, adopt corresponding measures to encourage the deepening of spring and autumn breaks for primary and secondary school students, and actively promote staggered vacation scheduling.”

On the regulatory front, Zeng Bowei called for balanced oversight: “For new business formats and models, we should implement inclusive and prudent supervision to stimulate market vitality, helping us better resolve the contradiction where enterprises need both innovation and regulated innovation.”

International Implications

China is positioning itself as a formidable competitor in the global tourism market. The plan’s emphasis on inbound tourism reflects a strategic opening to international visitors, with fourth- and fifth-tier cities seeing 134% average annual growth in inbound arrivals. Chongqing, for instance, recorded a 170% year-on-year surge in inbound tourist arrivals, fueled by its unique urban landscape and international social media exposure.

Li Xinjian noted the importance of hub cities: “China is promoting the construction of five international consumption center cities, which is one direction. On the other hand, we need to further consider how to better leverage the important role of hub cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen in the entire inbound tourism network.”

Summer Campaign Launched

Coinciding with the plan’s release, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism on July 8 launched the 2026 national summer cultural and tourism consumption season in Qinghai Province. Running from early July through the end of August, the campaign will feature over 30,000 cultural and tourism consumption events and issue more than 450 million yuan in consumption vouchers and subsidies.

What to Watch

As China embarks on this ambitious five-year journey, several key questions remain: How will the plan’s implementation be monitored and evaluated? What specific visa-free expansions are on the horizon? And how will China balance tourism growth with environmental protection and cultural heritage preservation?

The plan’s success will depend on translating ambitious targets into tangible improvements in visitor experience, infrastructure, and service quality — a challenge that will test China’s capacity to shift from the world’s largest domestic tourism market to a genuinely world-class tourism destination.