Qingdao Airport processed over 2.88 million cross-border passengers in 2024, marking a remarkable 92.7% year-on-year increase and leading all ports in Shandong Province, according to the Qingdao Airport Border Inspection Station. The total includes over 2 million mainland Chinese residents, 120,000 residents from Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, and 710,000 foreign nationals. These figures represent impressive year-on-year growth rates of 89.8%, 97.7%, and 107.8%, respectively. Additionally, the airport handled more than 22,000 international flights in 2024, reflecting a 54.4% increase compared to the previous year.

China has implemented a series of measures since 2024 to facilitate foreign nationals traveling to the country for tourism, business, education, work, and residency through the significant expansion of unilateral and reciprocal visa-free agreements. China now has comprehensive visa-free arrangements with 25 countries and offers unilateral visa exemptions to citizens from 38 nations including France, Germany, South Korea, and Japan. This growing "visa-free network" continues to attract international visitors and foster global engagement.

China's expansion of visa-free policies has spurred a wave of international tourism and business travel. Popular hashtags like "#ChinaTravel" and "#wanderlustchina" have trended on social media, reflecting the growing global interest of people visiting China for both leisure and business. This has culminated in Qingdao Airport seeing a sharp increase in international passenger volumes, with over 350,000 foreign nationals entering in 2024—double the figure from 2023. Among them, more than 64,000 entered visa-free, a 13-fold surge year-on-year. Following the introduction of trial visa exemptions for South Korean and Japanese citizens on November 8 and November 30, Qingdao Airport processed over 55,000 arrivals from these countries by year-end, underscoring the effectiveness of these policies in boosting cross-border travel.

China's expansion of its visa-free transit policies in 2024 will further facilitate travel for international passengers. The National Immigration Administration introduced a 240-hour transit visa-free policy on December 17, allowing eligible travelers from 54 countries—including Russia, Brazil, the UK, the US, and Canada—to transit through any of 60 designated ports in 24 provinces, including Qingdao Jiaodong International Airport, while staying in specified regions for up to 240 hours. Qingdao Airport issued over 6,800 temporary transit permits in 2024 under the policy, with most recipients hailing from South Korea, the UK, and Russia. These developments underline China's commitment to streamlining travel and strengthening its position as a global transit hub.