BEIJING – Weaving through a horde of Chinese tourists clutching delicate blown-sugar figurines, tea and selfie sticks, Mr Joao Esteves, a Portuguese, stands out as a rare foreigner in one of Beijing’s oldest alleyways.

“I was just in Azerbaijan last week and seeing where I could go from there, and there was a good flight that was quite affordable. In Europe, we hear a lot about China, so I wanted to see the country for myself,” said the 25-year-old software engineer in Nanluoguxiang, Dongcheng district, on Nov 8.

What made China even more appealing to the solo traveller was that he did not need a visa for the trip. The Chinese government has been rolling out visa exemptions in earnest to dozens of countries over the past year. Portugal was granted the waiver in October.

Despite efforts to revitalise the country’s inbound tourism sector, international travellers are still not returning to China fast enough. It has been more than 18 months since the country reopened its borders, but international tourist numbers have not reached pre-pandemic levels.

Particularly noticeable is the slower return of American tourists, once a key market for the East Asian titan.

Analysts and tourism businesses told The Straits Times that cancellations by international airlines of flights and routes to China in recent months, coupled with geopolitical tensions, have dampened the s...