"Yukeo Returns"... Chinese Passengers Arrive at Incheon and Pyeongtaek Ports After 3 Years and 7 Months

Korea-China International Passenger Ferry Suspended Due to COVID-19
Group Tours Allowed After Over 6 Years, Leading to Continued Entries

The Chinese government has fully lifted the ban on group tours to South Korea for Chinese tourists after more than six years, leading to a continuous influx of Chinese visitors entering Korea. In March 2017, Chinese authorities restricted the issuance of group visas to South Korea as a retaliatory measure against the deployment of THAAD. It was only on the 10th of this month, after a long 6 years and 5 months, that group tours for Chinese tourists to Korea were completely resumed.

Ports operating international passenger ferry routes connected to China, such as Incheon Port and Pyeongtaek Port, are bustling with activity as they welcome Chinese guests for the first time in a long while. On the 12th, the New Golden Bridge 5, which departed from Qingdao, China, the previous day carrying 118 Chinese passengers, arrived at the Incheon International Passenger Terminal. It is reported that 84 of them were Chinese group tourists.

On the morning of the 12th, international passenger ferry service between Korea and China resumed after 3 years and 7 months. Chinese tourists arriving at the Incheon Port International Passenger Terminal in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, are moving.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

On the same day, the international passenger terminal arrival hall at Pyeongtaek Port in Gyeonggi Province was also crowded with Chinese group tourists. The New Grand Peace, which departed from Weihai, China, on the 11th, arrived carrying 55 passengers.

Korea-China international passenger ferries had suspended operations in January 2020 due to COVID-19, resuming only cargo transport sequentially afterward. Passenger transport has resumed after 3 years and 7 months.

Choi Yong-seok, Secretary General of the Korea-China Ferry Association, told Yonhap News, "With this resumption of transport, we expect a gradual increase in the number of passengers visiting Korea," adding, "If China's economy recovers, we anticipate returning to pre-COVID-19 levels by early next year."

The Myeongdong shopping district, once known as the "holy land of Yukeo (Chinese tourists)," is also busy preparing to welcome Chinese guests again. Chinese-language signs, which had disappeared for a while, have reappeared in shops along Myeongdong Street. A cosmetics road shop displayed a job advertisement on its exterior wall stating, "Hiring staff aged 30-40 who can speak Chinese. Preference given to bilingual speakers of Chinese and Korean," and other stores are urgently seeking part-time or full-time employees who can speak Chinese.

China has lifted the ban on group tours to Korea for the first time in 6 years and 5 months, raising expectations that this will be a boon for the domestic travel, hotel, and duty-free industries. On the 11th, foreign tourists lined up in long queues to enter a duty-free shop in downtown Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

Additionally, the tourism industry and local governments are actively conducting marketing campaigns to attract Yukeo, anticipating a large influx of Chinese tourists during the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival (September 29) and National Day (October 1) holidays.

The Gyeonggi Tourism Organization plans to promote the resumption of Chinese group travel by participating in K-tour roadshows in China, hosting familiarization tours for Chinese travel agencies, developing travel products in cooperation with key Chinese travel agencies, and attracting FIT (Free Independent Travelers) and SIT (Special Interest Tourists). The Busan Tourism Organization will launch a discount promotion for the foreigner-only tourist pass "Visit Busan Pass" through China's largest online travel agency Ctrip (OTA) and the travel service platform Trip.com starting from the 16th. They are also preparing online travel platform discount events, festival-themed online events, and marketing targeting local travel agencies in Beijing and Shanghai in preparation for the Chinese golden holiday (September 29 to October 6).

A representative from the Jeju Tourism Organization stated, "In preparation for the reopening of the Chinese group tourism market, we have been developing various content and conducting online and offline promotions. We plan to enhance the quality of Jeju's tourism industry and increase competitiveness by fostering and promoting customized travel content that reflects changes in Chinese tourist trends."

The number of Chinese visitors to Korea reached 8.07 million in 2016 but dropped to 170,000 in 2021 due to COVID-19, then slightly increased to 550,000 in the first half of this year.