In the first half of the year, Changsha ranked first among provincial capitals in central China in foreign tourist arrivals through its port.

Changsha Aims to Become "Central China's No. 1 City for Inbound Tourism"

At a recent meeting promoting inbound tourism in Changsha, a set of data drew considerable attention. In 2025, Changsha received 425,900 inbound tourist trips and generated 335 million USD in tourism revenue, both increasing by over 40%. The number of foreign tourists entering the country via Changsha port ranked first among central China's provincial capitals.

In the first half of this year, Changsha received 182,300 inbound tourist visits, generating a total of 224 million USD in inbound tourist spending. The figures recorded a year-on-year increase of 37.81% and 61.39% respectively, continuing to lead central China.

How does an inland city—neither on the coast nor along a border—become the "first stop" for foreign tourists visiting central China? Changsha's answer lies in a well-targeted strategy of "three breakthroughs."

Policy Breakthrough

Turning Visa-Free Benefits into Tourist Growth

China's inbound tourism market has hit one trillion CNY, driven largely by visa-free policies. 

Since 2024, the visa-free transit policy has been extended from 72 hours to 240 hours. Currently, nearly 80 countries benefit from China's visa-free entry policies, and the 240-hour visa-free transit policy now applies to 55 countries.

The central government opened the door to inbound tourism, and Hunan paved the way with concrete measures. In January 2025, the provincial government introduced the twelve measures to facilitate inbound tourism, allowing group visas with just two people, mutual recognition of filings between Changsha and Zhangjiajie, and visa issuance "within one working day." Passengers on "air-to-air transit" can enjoy free accommodation, free meals and other preferential services. Subsequently, 11 departments in Changsha jointly released several measures for inbound tourism development, offering substantial financial incentives to market entities.

Market entities have braved the challenges and proactively expanded into overseas source markets. In 2025, 25 travel agencies in the city shared 9.22 million CNY in incentive subsidies, and the average length of stay for foreign tourists in Changsha extended from 3.3 days to 4 days.

"Last year, two companies under our group received nearly 30,000 inbound tourist trips," said Luo Chengyi, head of China Travel Service Head Office Hunan Co., Ltd. Luo added that the company has established a dedicated inbound tourism center and designed new itineraries for European, American, and the Middle Eastern markets, leading to a substantial year-on-year increase in tourists from emerging markets.

Market Breakthrough

Weaving Inbound Source Markets into "One Network"

Hong Kong is Changsha's largest source market of inbound tourism, accounting for 20.1%.

Deepening its presence in Hong Kong, Changsha is pursuing a two-pronged approach. First, the city has made ongoing promotional efforts. Themed advertisements have been placed at the Hong Kong West Kowloon Station for three consecutive years. The city also opened the first cultural and tourism flagship store in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, with a 50% increase in daily inquiries about tour packages since the store opened.

Second, the city has conducted in-depth collaboration. In April 2025, the "Ten Thousand Hong Kong Residents Touring Changsha" initiative was launched, with the first special train carrying nearly 800 Hong Kong tourists arriving in Changsha. This July, the Miss Hong Kong Pageant team came to Changsha for the first time for location shooting, and a study tour and exchange program for school principals from Hong Kong and Macao was held in Hunan, which served as a catalyst to attract thousands of young people from Hong Kong and Macao to Changsha for study tours.

Overseas promotion efforts have also been stepped up. Changsha has organized promotional conferences in Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, and Thailand, while coordinating with gateway cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Kunming, and Guilin. Changsha has held promotional events in Shanghai for two consecutive years, positioning itself as the "second stop for inbound tourism."

"We launched a new tour package featuring 'watch fireworks shows in Liuyang, molten iron fireworks in Tongguan, and lotus flowers in Yueyang,' which has been extremely successful," said Jiang Yanni, president of the Changsha Travel Agency Association and chairwoman of Hunan Overseas Travel Co., Ltd. She added that this year, the company was selected as a Hunan supplier for Ctrip's English-language T-station platform and has already received 759 independent travelers from overseas.

Services Breakthrough

Building Competitiveness Through Details

Flight routes are the "lifeblood" of inbound tourism. As of the end of July, Changsha Airport served 15 countries and regions via 10 active routes. New destinations included Ho Chi Minh City, Manila, and Yangon, while flight frequencies on popular routes such as Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, and Singapore were increased. Passengers on RCEP routes accounted for 92% of the total.

The competition in inbound tourism is about resources and products in the first half, and services and details in the second half. Huanghua Airport has set up an "International Service Center for Foreigners," offering real-time translation in over 100 languages. A downtown duty-free shop has opened, and key commercial areas have implemented instant tax refund for overseas visitors. Yuelu Mountain and Orange Isle have opened green channels for advance booking by foreign groups.

The Office of Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Changsha Municipal Committee is advancing the development of an international language environment, and the Binjiang Cultural Park has launched a project to upgrade its signage in Chinese, English, Japanese, and Korean. The "Changsha Guide Service" platform has been launched, allowing one-click booking of foreign-language tour guides. The "Go! Changsha" cultural tourism information service platform supports 16 languages, offering a one-stop solution for itinerary planning. Multilingual volunteer service teams have served over 40,000 tourist arrivals in total.

On the 2026 Word-of-Mouth Travel Rankings released by the Ctrip Group, Changsha ranked 23rd on the Asia-wide "Must-Visit Destinations" list and 40th on the global top 100 "Must-Visit Destinations" list.

Yi Ying serves as deputy director of the Publicity Department of the CPC Changsha Municipal Committee, and secretary of the CPC Leadership Group and director of the Changsha Municipal Bureau of Culture, Tourism, Radio and Television. He noted that Changsha will focus on strengthening its foundational advantages, shaping its brand, and showcasing its signature offerings, enhancing the service experience for inbound tourists, and innovating promotional models for inbound tourism. The city aims to drive a profound transformation of inbound tourism from a "traffic hub" to "sustained high-quality growth" and from "scale expansion" to "value enhancement," thereby carving out a distinctive place for Changsha on the global cultural and tourism landscape.

This article is from Hunan Provincial Government. www.enghunan.gov.cn.
 
Translator: Xiao Juan
 
Chinese source: hunan.gov.cn