Increase in Chinese Tourists... Air Busan's Chinese Routes Recovering in First Half of the Year

Five Routes in China See About 350% Increase Compared to Last Year

Traditional Tourist Destinations Zhangjiajie and Xi'an Show Significant Growth

The number of passengers on Air Busan's China routes in the first half of this year showed a recovery trend, increasing by approximately 350% compared to the same period last year.

Air Busan (CEO Doo Sungkuk) announced that the total number of passengers on its five China routes departing from Gimhae Airport in the first half of the year (January to June) reached about 153,000, a roughly 350% increase from around 34,000 in the first half of last year.

Among Air Busan's four China routes, excluding the Hainan route which was not operated in the first half of last year, Zhangjiajie saw the largest increase. This was followed by Xi'an, Qingdao, and Yanji. In particular, Xi'an and Zhangjiajie, both classified as traditional tourist routes, showed a significant upward trend.

Air Busan passenger numbers on five routes including Zhangjiajie, China (first half of 2024 compared to 2023).

The overall load factor for China routes also increased by about 20 percentage points compared to the first half of last year. An Air Busan representative explained that, along with the gradual expansion of flights, demand recovery has gained further momentum this year.

Since the suspension of international flights due to the impact of COVID-19, the first China route that Air Busan resumed was the Busan-Qingdao route. Despite the closure of Gimhae Airport's international terminal under the Incheon Airport quarantine integration policy, this route was the only one among Gimhae Airport's international routes to resume operations in October 2020.

The full-scale resumption of China routes has continued since last year. Air Busan resumed the Busan-Yanji route in March last year, the Busan-Xi'an and Busan-Zhangjiajie routes in May, and the Busan-Sanya (Hainan) route in October.

An Air Busan representative stated, "Although we have not yet reached pre-COVID-19 levels overall, the travel sentiment for China, especially for group tours, is gradually reviving," and added, "We will continue to closely monitor the market situation to ensure stable supply in line with the recovering demand."