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A swipe of an electronic passport and a fingerprint scan - it now takes an average of 6-10 seconds for travelers from both home and abroad to clear customs at Terminal 2 at Beijing Capital International Airport.
Qualified Chinese and foreign travelers can now enjoy the benefits of the self-service channel when clearing customs for international flights.
From 2008, Chinese citizens holding electronic passports have enjoyed the benefits of self-service when entering customs at the airport.
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Foreign tourists at the Tian'anmen Square in Beijing. Du Jia / For China Daily |
According to the Ministry of Public Security, the self-service channel has been expanded to cover foreigners holding electronic passports and holders of residence permits valid for longer than six months.
The latest convenience is part of the city's efforts to boost the travel sector and attract more foreign travelers.
The United States, the Republic of Korea and Japan were the top three sources of foreign travelers visiting Beijing last year as the city hosted more than 4 million tourists from abroad, according to a recent report.
The report on the development of Beijing's tourism industry in 2015, released on July 29, said the city hosted around 4.2 million foreign travelers last year, with 46.5 percent from Asia.
Travelers from Europe and the Americas accounted for 25.5 percent and 21.8 percent, respectively, while the Oceania region and Africa accounted for 3.9 percent and 2.1 percent, the report said, quoting statistics provided by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Statistics.
Song Yu, head of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Tourism Development, estimated earlier this year that the municipality will earn an annual income of around 500 billion yuan ($75 billion) from the travel industry.
The commission is also coordinating and communicating with other departments to extend the visa free span for foreign travelers in Beijing from 72 hours to 144 hours, Song told local newspaper Beijing Morning Post in January.
In January, 2013, Beijing started its 72-hour visa-free stay policy for citizens of 45 countries to boost tourism. Tourists holding third-country visas and plane tickets can apply for a transit without visa in the capital city at Beijing airport.
"As the 72-hour visa free stay policy has been enacted for more than two years, it has helped boost the number of foreign travelers in Beijing and increase the income of the travel industry," Song said.
"Also, some industry insiders have called for extending the stay granted to greater facilitate foreign travelers," Song added.
The city is also working to perfect its online tax refund service to facilitate foreigners shopping and it will offer a greater variety of commodities from around the country, Song said.
Beijing has seen a surge in the number of Chinese citizens traveling abroad. In 2014, the city was the largest source of Chinese travelers going abroad.
As a sign of Beijing's expanding role in servicing international trips, Beijing is now home to 22 travel agencies allowed to run outbound traveling services.
Beijing accounts for 18.2 percent of the 121 travel agencies nationwide.
zhangyunbi@chinadaily.com.cn
