Immigration management authorities across China saw a significant increase of cross-border trips by both Chinese and foreigners in 2024, according to statistics provided by the National Immigration Administration on Tuesday.

During the year, the authorities inspected 610 million inbound and outbound trips, a 43.9 percent year-on-year increase, the NIA spokeswoman Lyu Ning said on Tuesday.

Of these trips, 64.88 million were made by foreign citizens, an 82.9 percent increase from the previous year, Lyu said at a news conference.

Residents on the Chinese mainland made 291 million trips, and residents in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan made 254 million trips, which were respectively 41.3 percent and 38.8 percent higher than the previous year.

In 2024, the immigration management authorities issued more than 2.59 million visas for foreign citizens, a 52.3 percent year-on-year increase.

Also, Foreign travelers made more than 20 million trips to China visa-free in 2024, more than doubling the figure in 2023.

Lyu said a series of favorable policies introduced by the administration over the past year have contributed to the increase of the number of cross-border trips.

Looking into the future, Lyu said the administration will continue to improve its services and policies to further facilitate cross-border travel.