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Cambodia

From June 15, Cambodia started offering visa-free entry for Chinese citizens on a trial basis, allowing them in for stays of up to 14 days.

Tourism Minister Huot Hak said authorities are targeting more than 600,000 Chinese visitors during the four-month trial and hope to attract over 1.2 million in all this year, Khmer Times reported.

The visa waiver is part of Cambodia’s broader effort to restore Chinese visitor numbers to pre-Covid levels.

China was Cambodia’s biggest source of international visitors in the first five months of 2026 with 400,000 arrivals, or more than 30% of the total number, according to government data.

South Korea

South Korea has begun issuing 10-year multiple-entry visas to certain Chinese travelers as part of efforts to attract more tourists and facilitate business travel.

Chinese visitors who have previously traveled to South Korea can get a five-year multiple-entry visa, and residents of 14 major cities including Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou are now eligible for visas valid for up to 10 years, according to The Korea Times.

South Korea also extended its visa application fee waiver for group tourists from China, India, and Southeast Asian countries Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam until the end of the year.

The groups will be exempt from the 23,000 won (US$15) visa application fee until Dec. 31, 2026.

UAE

The United Arab Emirates last month expanded its visa-on-arrival scheme to citizens of Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Kenya, and South Africa, along with their family members.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the move underscores the country’s commitment to deepening bilateral ties with friendly nations and fueling closer economic, cultural, and people-to-people exchanges.

China

In February this year, China allowed Canadian and British citizens to enter visa-free for up to 30 days.

Inbound tourism has shown strong recovery, with 35.17 million foreign visitors arriving in 2025.

Visa-free schemes continued to drive that growth, with 30.08 million entering China without a visa, a 49.5% increase.

Last year, China extended its visa-free entry for 45 countries, many in Europe, South America, and the Gulf besides Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and South Korea, until the end of 2026.

But some economies have tightened visa policies to safeguard their tourism image and prevent rising crime rates.

Thailand, for example, scrapped its 60-day visa exemption policy for 93 ⁠countries including major economies like the U.S., the U.K., and India from May following a recent spate of high-profile arrests of foreigners linked to drug offenses and sex trafficking.

A 30-day visa exemption remains in place, but the number of countries and territories eligible will be reduced from 57 to 54.

Indonesia recently introduced a massive immigration crackdown targeting foreign influencers, content creators, and remote workers operating on tourist visas.