BEIJING, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- The number of overseas visitors claiming China's departure tax refund surged 285 percent year on year in the first 11 months of 2025, according to data released by the State Taxation Administration on Monday.

In the same period, both the sales of tax refund-eligible goods and the total amount of tax refunds increased 98.8 percent year on year, the data showed.

China has introduced a series of measures since April to optimize its tax refund system for overseas visitors.

The policy optimization has included the establishment of instant tax refund counters in major shopping districts in cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Chengdu and Guangzhou. Cities including Shanghai and Hangzhou have also introduced online refund options, making the process more efficient.

The continued optimization of tax refund services has better met overseas visitors' refund needs and further fueled their enthusiasm for traveling in China.

As of the end of November, there were 12,252 departure tax refund shops across the country, with more than 7,000 of them offering immediate refund upon purchase services, according to the administration.

China first implemented the departure tax refund policy for overseas visitors in 2015. Since then, the scale of departure tax refunds has continued to grow year by year, benefiting an increasing number of overseas visitors. ■