Tourism is an important driver of economic growth. China's inbound and outbound tourism has both thrived in recent years. Promoting inbound tourism will help push forward China's reform and opening up, while promoting communication and exchanges with other countries in the world.

In order to attract more visitors from overseas, infrastructure and services of tourist destinations should be improved to provide international tourists with facilitated services.

The government should further publicize China's visa policy. It may also reform the visa policy to match international trends. For instance, it may consider rolling out a transit-without-visa policy for the Olympic Winter Games 2022. The level of digitalization in visa application and management should also be improved.

Tourism organizations and companies should strengthen promotion of Chinese tourist sites based on their characteristics. They may hold tourism festivals or exhibitions to help foreigners learn about China's tourism resources. Tourism products featuring specific themes, such as the snow and ice industry or world heritage sites, should be developed to cater to international tourists. Moreover, celebrities from foreign countries may be invited to become ambassadors for Chinese tourism in order to draw more international tourists.

Promoting inbound tourism will serve to increase the international community's understanding and support of China so as to enable the country to play a more important role in global governance.

(This is an edited excerpt of an article originally published in Beijing Youth Daily on January 20)