Tourists visit the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, the capital of China, on May 2, 2024. (Photo/Xinhua)

Chongqing - At the end of August and early September, 31-year-old Dinna posted two job ads on the Chinese lifestyle-sharing platform Xiaohongshu, or the Little Red Book. The ads read, "Looking for people to join an amazing job showing foreigners around Shanghai and Beijing (Inbound Tour Guides)!" 

The two posts received thousands of likes, saves, and comments, along with hundreds of resumes, and Dinna received over one hundred resumes.

Although her account doesn't have many followers, the high attention the posts garnered was mainly due to the booming inbound tourism in China.

Monthly earnings in the peak season

 As of now, China has visa-free access to 38 countries, and a new 240-hour visa-free transit policy has been implemented for nationals of 54 countries.

On the one hand, favorable policies have emerged; on the other hand, many foreigners who have visited China, as well as Chinese netizens, have posted China travel videos on overseas social media platforms, sparking interest in "China Travel" and encouraging more foreign tourists.

According to the latest data from the National Immigration Administration, in the first 11 months of 2024, 29.22 million foreign visitors entered China, an increase of 86.2 percent year over year. Of these, 17.45 million entered through visa exemptions, an increase of 123.3 percent year over year. The number of foreigners entering China on a transit visa exemption also increased by 132.9 percent year over year.

With inbound tourism booming, traditional travel agencies have found that there is a shortage of foreign-language tour guides.

Currently, the daily wage for English-speaking tour guides in Shanghai is around 800 yuan ($109.6), and for guides speaking other languages, the wage has risen to about 1,000 yuan. For entrepreneurial teams without large support staff, guides' shares of the earnings are higher, and it is common for guides to earn tens of thousands of yuan a month during the peak season.

Against this backdrop, inbound tourism has become a new path for young people to make money. Many people on overseas social media platforms have started taking orders as personal tour guides, showing foreign tourists around China. On domestic social media platforms, there are also many inbound tourism entrepreneurship and communication groups, some of which have reached the maximum of 500 members, with group owners opening multiple groups to accommodate the growing number of participants.

Dinna quit her job in Shanghai in 2017, traveled around South America for a year, and learned Spanish. She returned to Shanghai in 2018 to start her own business, creating an account on overseas travel websites to promote inbound tourism products for Shanghai while also working as a tour guide herself.

"At that time, I began taking foreigners on city walks around Shanghai, but then the tourism industry faced setbacks, and I also took a break," Dinna said.

In 2023, she tried relisting her inbound tourism products on overseas travel websites, but the response was lukewarm. In early 2024, she tried again, and this time, the links quickly attracted many foreign sign-ups. She felt that the time to return to the industry had come.

In the first half of 2024, Dinna was still working solo, but she started recruiting people as the number of bookings increased. Her team has since expanded to six people, with four in Shanghai and two in Beijing. During peak seasons, they can host several hundred foreign tourists a month.

"I didn't post job ads through traditional recruitment channels. Instead, I looked for people on Xiaohongshu because I believe the platform's users are mostly young people, many of whom have overseas experience and are 'interesting souls,'" Dinna explained.

While traditional travel agencies typically prioritize experience when hiring inbound tour guides, Dinna's approach for her small entrepreneurial team is different. She prefers young people who understand foreign cultures, are energetic, and have charm - individuals who can attract or captivate foreign tourists, encouraging them to follow along.

Five new members of Dinna's team come from prestigious domestic universities and top overseas institutions. Some have left careers in investment banking or fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) brands. Though they lack experience in the tourism industry, they all love travel and enjoy the flexibility and freedom of being tour guides. While it can be tiring, showing foreigners around is much more enjoyable and fulfilling than working as a cog in a traditional large corporation.

However, this pursuit also requires a certain financial foundation, as the tourism industry has clear peak and off-peak seasons.

For inbound tourism, the peak seasons are from April to May and July to October, during which tour guides can be extremely busy. But during the off-season, work can be unstable. Traditional travel agency guides can lead outbound or domestic tours, while these entrepreneurs need to find other sources of income.

Dinna explained that her five team members work part-time as inbound tour guides, receiving a share of the revenue from orders. When there are no bookings, they can pursue other jobs. This approach helps her reduce the pressure of entrepreneurship, as she doesn't have to worry about maintaining full-time employees.

Low entry barriers, but hard to master

Many newcomers hope to claim a share of the inbound tourism market. However, inbound tourism is not a new industry; in fact, it is deeply rooted in tradition.

The current spotlight on inbound tourism isn’t because the number of international visitors to China has reached a record high. In reality, inbound tourism has yet to recover to pre-pandemic levels from 2019. One of the main drivers of the industry’s recent boom is a supply-demand mismatch. Over the past few years, many professionals have left the sector, leading to a talent shortage.

Despite this, China's inbound tourism is on a rapid recovery trajectory, bolstered by unprecedentedly favorable policies.

According to Morgan Stanley, inbound tourism could generate between $1.7 trillion and $4.5 trillion in revenue for China over the next decade. By the end of this period, its contribution to China’s GDP is expected to rise to 2%-4%.

However, low entry barriers have resulted in an influx of participants, leading to a wide range of quality in tourism offerings.

“Anyone can join, but managing it well and ensuring sustainability is another matter,” Dinna explained, drawing from her years of experience. “The key to inbound tourism lies in truly understanding foreigners - it’s not just about memorizing a tour guide script.”

For instance, when visiting the Bund in Shanghai, Western tourists are often uninterested in the current uses of the colonial-era buildings, as the architectural style feels familiar. Instead, they are captivated by the rapid development of the iconic skyscrapers in Lujiazui over the past 30 years and the feng shui principles behind their design. Feng shui, a Chinese philosophical system, seeks to harmonize humans with their environment.

Foreign tourists aren’t just drawn to the sights—they are eager to experience Chinese culture and daily life. To meet this demand, Dinna incorporates cultural elements into her tours, such as visits to matchmaking corners to showcase traditional matchmaking customs or inviting guests to join retired locals in square dancing.

Dinna observed that many foreign visitors are curious about life in China and ask questions that reflect their fresh perspectives, such as: “Why don’t we see homeless people here?” “Are public toilets in China really free?” and “Why are there so many new cars but no classic or antique ones on the roads?”

For Dinna, this kind of curiosity and dialogue is what makes the job meaningful. “It’s not just a way to earn money; it’s a bridge for international communication, helping more foreigners understand China,” she said.

(Shanghai Observer contributed the Chinese version of this report.)