Thanks to intensified international exchanges and optimized policies, China has seen a rapid growth in inbound tourism this year, with the number of foreign visitors in the first nine months expected to reach 95 million — a 55.4 percent year-on-year increase, according to official data released on Monday.

The figure is about 93.4 percent of that seen during the same period in 2019, before the COVID-19 outbreak, according to Vice-Minister of Culture and Tourism Zhang Zheng.

He said that from January to July, 17 million foreign visits to the Chinese mainland were made through various ports nationwide, up about 130 percent over the same period last year.

To provide more convenience for inbound tourists, the ministry has required major scenic spots across the country to diversify payment services so that overseas travelers can pay fees in a variety of ways, such as by swiping their foreign bank cards, scanning QR codes or using cash, Miao Muyang, head of the ministry's industrial development department, said at a news conference organized by the State Council Information Office.

Miao said China will also continue to optimize its visa-free transit policies to help attract more foreign travelers.

"We'll collaborate with relevant departments to continuously refine visa and customs clearance policies, and prudently expand the scope of visa-free countries," he said.

Meanwhile, with the weeklong National Day holiday kicking off on Tuesday, the ministry said cultural and tourism events will be held nationwide to boost consumption.

October has been designated a "cultural and tourism consumption month", and some 24,000 activities will be held across the country, and consumers will get a total of 500 million yuan ($71 million) worth of coupons that can be used for tourism and culture consumption, according to Miao.

A large number of plays, dramas, exhibitions and activities involving intangible cultural heritages will be held nationwide.

Shanxi province, for example, plans to organize 100 inheritors of the intangible cultural heritage of noodle-making to jointly make a single noodle, said Chen Binbin, head of the ministry's public services department.

Tourists are also reminded to maintain safety awareness while enjoying the holiday. They should think twice before choosing unreasonably low-cost tourism products, participating in high-risk entertainment events or traveling to undeveloped or insecure areas.

Scenic spots across the country are expected to see a surge in visitors during the holiday. The railway network is forecast to handle 175 million passenger trips during the 10-day National Day holiday travel rush, according to China State Railway Group.

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