CBN丨South Korea reported to offer visa-free entry to Chinese group tours

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South Korea will implement a temporary visa-free policy for Chinese group tourists starting from September 29, and the policy will remain in effect until June next year, CCTV reported today, citing South Korean news agency Yonhap.

The decision came after China in November 2024 extended its visa-free transit policy to allow ordinary passport holders from 38 countries including South Korea, to visit China for a maximum of 30 days without applying for a visa.

According to an earlier report by Xinhua News Agency, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of South Korea said in March that it planned to implement a phased visa-free policy for Chinese group tourists in the third quarter of this year.

Following South Korea’s reported policy, a travel index on Chinese travel platform Qunar.com showed a 68 percent surge in flight search volume for Seoul, capital of South Korea, compared to the previous hour, ranking it second among popular international flight destinations, the platform said on Wednesday.

Based on international flight and hotel booking volumes for this summer, South Korea has consistently been among the top three most popular destinations for Chinese travelers. With the support of the group visa-free policy, South Korea's popularity is expected to rise steadily in the second half of the year, the platform said.

The South Korean government said that with the rapid recovery of South Korea's tourism market, this move is expected to boost potential demand for tourism to South Korea, help revitalize the local economy and stimulate domestic demand, Yonhap reported.

In recent years, the South Korean government has designated tourism as a strategic industry. The northeastern Asian country has been attracting foreign tourists by simplifying entry procedures for popular tourist areas and extending the length of stay of foreign tourists in South Korea to 15 days, aiming to attracting 30 million foreign tourists and generating USD30 billion in tourism revenue, according to a CCTV report.

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