Tourism Organization Signals Resumption of Visits to Korea on the 31st Anniversary of Korea-China Diplomatic Relations

Joint Planning of a Visit to Korea by 31 Members of the Chinese Youth Travel Agency

The Korea Tourism Organization announced on the 22nd that it has jointly planned a group of 31 visitors from China Youth Travel Service, the largest state-owned travel agency in China, to commemorate the 31st anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and China. This is interpreted as a signal that private exchanges and inbound tourism between Korea and China, which were suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, are fully resuming.

China has lifted the ban on group tours to Korea after 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 including Chinese and Japanese were strolling the streets of Myeongdong, Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

The group will depart from Beijing on the 24th via Asiana Airlines and arrive at Incheon International Airport for a 3-night, 4-day itinerary. On the same day, the organization plans to hold a welcoming event at the airport arrival hall together with Incheon International Airport Corporation, Asiana Airlines, and the Korea Association of Travel Agents.

Lee Young-geun, Director of International Marketing at the Korea Tourism Organization, stated, “With the reopening of group tours from China, we aim to lead the early recovery of the entire inbound market by restoring Chinese tourist arrivals.” He added, “At the same time, to enhance satisfaction with inbound tourism, we plan to actively promote the development and marketing support of products that align with the changed trends in cooperation with related industries.”

As of 2019, just before the pandemic, China was the largest inbound tourism market, with 6.02 million Chinese visitors accounting for 34.4% of all foreign tourists visiting Korea. To accelerate the reopening of the Chinese inbound market, the organization will focus on restoring networks within the Korea-China tourism industry and aims to capture outbound tourism demand within China during the Chuseok holiday in September and the National Day holiday in October.