Turkey and China are dropping visa requirements for tourists, including from the USA and Canada, in 2024, to visit for as long as 90 days
Making travel easier is likely to boost tourism, along with political and economic ties with the countries whose passport holders no longer need to apply for a visa to visit.
Turkey Visa Requirements in 2024
Turkey – which now wants to be referred to as Türkiye – is one of the world’s most popular destinations, with an estimated 46 million visitors in 2023, according to recent figures released by the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
The new rules apply to nationals of the USA, Canada, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Oman. Previously, those visitors had to apply for a visa, usually online.
Nationals of other more than 40 other countries still will have to apply for a visa, usually an e-visa, which does not need any additional requirements.
And still others will need to meet certain eligibility requirements, such as proof of residency, according to the travel trade publication Travel and Tour World.
The two top destinations in Turkey, or Türkiye, are Istanbul with its world-famous Blue Mosque, and Cappodocia, the world-famous archeological site and UNESCO Heritage Site.
It is one of more than a dozen UNESCO World Heritage Site designations in Turkey.
China Visa Requirements in 2024
It’s nearly a year since China fully reopened its borders to foreign visitors following the Covid shutdown, but international tourism is nowhere near pre-Pandemic levels.
In 2019, before the shutdown, China’s travel and tourism industry employed 74 million people and reportedly generated nearly $1.5 trillion to the nation’s economy.
In an effort to increase inbound travel, in December 2023, China granted visa-free entry to travelers from France, Italy, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and Malaysia.
As of January 2024, China has simplified visa procedures for tourists from the United States.
The top destination in China is the Great Wall, which is usually crowded with visitors. I was lucky to have a section all to myself the day I visited several years ago, pre-Pandemic. That red dot is me.
I also loved Shanghai, for its history, one of the best acrobatic shows on the planet, and the ease of visiting dozens of important sites by subway, something important to a native New Yorker like me.
Read my article on how to visit Shanghai by subway on Orbitz.
China is a vast country, and you should get off the beaten track and visit smaller cities like Langzhou, Wenzhou, Chengdu and others, as I did.
ecoXplorer Evelyn Kanter is a journalist with 20+ years of experience as a newspaper and magazine writer, radio & TV news producer & reporter, and author of guidebooks and smartphone apps – all focusing on travel, automotive, the environment and your rights as a consumer.
ecoXplorer Evelyn Kanter currently serves as President of the International Motor Press Assn. (IMPA), a former Board Member of the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) and a current member of the North American Travel Journalists Assn. (NATJA) and the North American Snowsports Journalists Assn. (NASJA).
Contact me at evelyn@ecoxplorer.com.
Copyright (C) Evelyn Kanter
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