Foreign tourists from 45 countries will be able to enjoy a 72-hour visa-free stay in Beijing from January 1, but visitors without a proper visa will not be allowed to travel outside the capital, the city government announced on November 5.

The policy is aimed at making Beijing more accessible to visitors and is expected to attract more overseas travelers.

In recent years, Beijing Capital Airport has strived to become an international transfer hub. But in 2011, transfer passengers merely accounted for 7 percent of 78.67 million travelers received by the airport, among which international transfer passengers were a paltry 354,000, far less than other major international airports in the world.