China hotels barred from refusing foreign guests as government strives for ‘first-class business environment’
Some hotels cited being “unequipped”. Under the law in China, hotels must register foreign travellers staying in their accommodations with the local authorities.
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SINGAPORE: Chinese authorities have ordered hotels in China not to refuse foreign guests in the wake of complaints from travellers from countries including Nigeria and the United Kingdom.
The Chinese government has received complaints from foreign travellers who were turned away by hotels, according to a notice posted on the State Council’s website.
The hotels cited reasons such as being “unequipped” to receive foreign guests or not knowing “how to input information into the systems”.
They will no longer be allowed to refuse foreign travellers on these grounds, several Chinese government bodies said in the notice last Friday (May 24).
The China Hotel Association will “guide and supervise” the industry to better receive foreign travellers, as well as improve the standards of service staff, said the Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Commerce and National Immigration Bureau.
The Ministry of Commerce has instructed the association to start an initiative to facilitate accommodation services for foreign travellers to China.
It also aims to encourage better standards and convenience for foreign nationals travelling and residing in China.
There are plans to work with booking platforms to offer English courses, provide free training for check-in registration procedures, as well as help workers in the industry improve their proficiency in foreign languages.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Public Security is deploying its agencies across the country to help with the registration process for foreign guests and in “creating a first-class business environment”, said the government.
The new policy comes as China tries to attract more tourists post-COVID-19. The country has relaxed entry rules for foreigners, earlier extending its short-stay visa-free policy for citizens of 12 countries until the end of 2025.
China also signed mutual visa exemptions with Singapore and Thailand earlier this year.
A total of 13.07 million foreign nationals visited China in the first quarter of 2024, an increase of over 300 per cent compared to the same period in 2023, Chinese news outlet CGTN reported this month, citing data from the National Immigration Administration.
CGTN also reported that about 466,000 visas were issued to foreign nationals and more than 1.98 million foreign visitors were granted visa-free entry in the first quarter of 2024.
CONFUSION OVER WHETHER ALL HOTELS ACCEPT FOREIGN GUESTS
Amid these efforts, confusion has persisted over whether all hotels in China receive foreign guests.
As recently as December 2023, travel website operator Trip.com stated in a blog post that not all hotels in China are “licenced” to host foreign guests and travellers are advised to ensure that their hotel is approved to do so.
Travellers rejected by hotels have also shared their experiences. For instance, Malaysian YouTuber Anjoe Koh said last year she had a friend in China “repeatedly confirm” with a hotel that foreign guests were accepted, but was turned away when she arrived because the hotel “didn’t have the resources”.
“A lot of hotels don’t accept foreign guests, especially during the Asian Games. Don’t simply book your hotel online and arrive, you will be turned away!” Ms Koh wrote in an Instagram story last September, when she also posted about going to Ningbo. Her experience was reported by Malaysian news site World of Buzz.
According to a former top editor at the state-linked Global Times, however, the distinction between hotels that accept and do not accept foreign guests has been scrapped since 2013.
This is according to notices published by relevant Chinese government bodies in 2013, save for a few counties and cities, wrote Mr Hu Xijin in an opinion article in the publication on Monday (May 27).
All hotels in China can take in foreign guests but must follow the registration process spelled out under the law, he wrote.
According to Article 39 of China’s Exit and Entry Administration Law, hotels must register the particulars of their foreign guests with local public security agencies.
Foreign travellers who are not staying in hotels, or their hosts, must register their accommodation details with the local authorities within 24 hours of their arrival.
Those who fail to do so will be given a warning and may be fined 2,000 yuan (US$276).
Hotels that fail to submit travellers’ accommodation details to the local authorities will be warned. “Where circumstances are serious”, these hotels may be fined 1,000 yuan to 5,000 yuan, the law states.
“Some hotels and local government bodies may not understand this and are afraid of receiving foreign travellers, and they may also be worried about bringing trouble upon themselves,” said Mr Hu.
Hotel reception staff may also worry about getting fined if they make mistakes in the registration process, he explained.
This may be a reason why they refuse to serve foreigners – “better to earn less than be fined”, said Mr Hu.
