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South Korea’s new visa-free policy for Chinese tour groups is sparking renewed interest in travel plans ahead of China’s National Day holiday.
Hwang Seong-won, the head of passenger networks at Korean Air, noted that since the policy’s announcement, the airline has seen a roughly 10 percentage point increase in load factors on China-Korea routes compared to last year. He anticipates even stronger growth in passenger numbers next year.
The airline’s flight capacity on routes to China has rebounded to approximately 86% of pre-pandemic levels, with most routes to other regions returning to normal, Hwang added.
Effective September 29, South Korea will pilot a visa-free entry program allowing Chinese group travelers to stay for up to 15 days, the government recently announced.
Search data from Tongcheng Travel shows that as of September 11, searches for international flights during China’s National Day holiday (October 1-8) soared by over 60% compared to last year. Specifically, searches for South Korean destinations like Seoul and Jeju Island more than doubled. This year’s holidays, coinciding with the Mid-Autumn Festival, create an extended eight-day holiday period.
The Korea Tourism Organization reported that last year, nearly 16.4 million international visitors traveled to South Korea, with Chinese tourists making up over 28%, the largest share. In 2024, approximately 4.6 million Chinese visitors arrived, doubling last year’s figure but still falling short of 2019 pre-pandemic levels by nearly 20%.
During the first half of this year, around 7.8 million travelers shuttled between China and South Korea, marking a 24% increase from the previous year, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport. However, this figure remains about 80% of the 2019 volume.
The effects of visa-free policies have been evident on both sides. On November 8, 2024, China introduced a visa-free entry policy for South Korean travelers, which was followed by a significant rise in South Korean visitors to China. Popular destinations like Qingdao, Shanghai, Xiamen, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou—known for their mild winters and proximity—have seen noticeable increases in tourism.
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