Firstly of this yr, the variety of Korean vacationers visiting China has been growing, resulting in a considerable rise within the demand for tourism in China. Chinese language vacationers nevertheless have been visiting South Korea in larger numbers as effectively.
In accordance with a number of Korean journey companies, the variety of Korean group vacationers to China has notably elevated within the first half of this yr. Knowledge launched by China’s Ministry of Tradition and Tourism reveals that within the first quarter of this yr, Korean vacationers ranked second and third, respectively, when it comes to inbound vacationers, showcasing the recognition of China as a journey vacation spot for Koreans.
Moreover, the variety of Chinese language vacationers visiting South Korea exceeded a million within the first quarter of this yr, making China the biggest supply of international vacationers for South Korea. This two-way development of tourism alternate between China and South Korea is resulting in more and more lively people-to-people exchanges.
With the rise within the variety of folks from Korea touring to China, Korean airways are growing the variety of out there routes. Korean Air at the moment affords three direct flights to Zhangjiajie every week, and in June alone, the route transported a complete of three,238 passengers, with a passenger load issue of 75%. Responding to the rising demand for journey to China, the frequency of flights on the Zhangjiajie route will enhance from three to 5 instances every week through the peak vacationer season from September to October.
Chinese language Vacationers to Have Rebounded Strongly
On August 10, 2023, China’s Ministry of Tradition and Tourism introduced the resumption of outbound group excursions for Chinese language residents to related international locations and areas (Third Batch), together with restarting the group tour enterprise for Chinese language residents to Korea. Subsequently, the Ministry of Tradition, Sports activities and Tourism of Korea launched a plan to draw Chinese language vacationers, aiming to draw 2 million yearly.
Ranging from the second half of 2023, the variety of Chinese language vacationers visiting South Korea has progressively elevated, indicating a powerful restoration in tourism to South Korea. This development has been much more pronounced since 2024, demonstrating the tourism business’s resilience and potential for progress. In accordance with the newest information from the Korean Tourism Group, from January to Could this yr, 1.82 million Chinese language vacationers visited Korea, making China the biggest supply of international vacationers. This represents a major enhance of 381.5% in comparison with final yr.
Lotte World, Korea’s largest indoor theme park, has reported a major enhance in abroad vacationers visiting the park. Within the first half of 2024, 15% of park guests are projected to be from abroad, marking a 5% enhance from the earlier yr. Notably, there was a considerable enhance in Chinese language vacationers, with a greater than tenfold year-on-year enhance.
Chinese language Vacationers’ Journey Preferences Have Modified
After the pandemic, there have been important adjustments in Chinese language vacationers’ journey preferences and consumption tendencies. A report from the Korea Tourism Administration revealed that Chinese language journey to South Korea is principally targeted on magnificence salons, medical remedies, dermatology, and clothes and trend. These tendencies point out a powerful demand from Chinese language vacationers for high-quality providers and personalised journey experiences.
Apart from conventional procuring and sweetness remedies, Chinese language vacationers are additionally keenly keen on Korea’s tradition and personalised journey experiences. They get pleasure from visiting the filming places of Korean dramas and collaborating in conventional Korean cultural experiences, which give them with a significant journey expertise and replicate the rising affect of Korean tradition. Furthermore, personalised tourism providers are gaining reputation as they cater to the varied wants of various vacationers. Journey companies and platforms now provide personalized providers to satisfy these various calls for.
The ‘144-hour transit visa-free’ coverage in China is predicted to draw extra vacationers from Korea. July 20 marks the birthday of the large panda ‘Fu Bao’. A Korean fan of ‘Fu Bao’ revealed plans to learn from the transit visa exemption to satisfy ‘Fu Bao’ by devising a journey technique to arrive in Chengdu on the identical day to have a good time. This rising development of tourism exchanges between China and South Korea signifies a mutual improvement in tourism and guarantees a brilliant future for the tourism market in each international locations. With additional facilitation measures, the tourism market in China and South Korea is predicted to flourish much more.
