South Korea will temporarily abolish visa requirements for Chinese tourist groups during summer months, in a bid to boost the tourism industry.
The decision that will take effect in the third quarter of this year, comes following a similar decision taken by China in November last year, VisaGuide.World reports.
We will introduce in the third quarter a temporary visa waiver for group tourists from China to speed up the recovery in the number of Chinese visitors.
South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said it will provide more information regarding specific plans for the visa exemption policy in April, according to the Korea Herald.
The Ministry also aims to boost foreign tourism by creating theme tourist packages, such as in culture, sports, and culinary, targeting younger tourists from China.
An analysis of 2023 from the Bank of Korea, predicts that one million more Chinese visitors could increase South Korea’s economic growth by 0.08 percent.
A total of 16.4 million travelers visited South Korea in 2024, accounting for an increase of 48 percent compared to 2023’s statistics, according to a report from Reuters. Chinese citizens represented the largest part, accounting for 28 percent of the total.
The goal of South Korea last year was to attract a total of 20 million tourists, but the statistics from the Korea Tourism Organization revealed that the number of visitors from January to October 2024, the number of visitors was 13.74.
Plans to permit visa-free travel for Chinese nationals were unfolded in December 2024 by South Korea, in a bid to boost the tourism industry.
China Included South Korea on Its Visa-Free Entry List
Since November 8, South Koreans have been eligible to enter China visa-free for tourism, business, and family visits or transit without a visa for up to 15 days.
Back then, authorities in China announced that in addition to South Korea the visa-free entry agreement would become effective for nationals of several countries as well.
Since November 8, nationals of the following countries can also enter visa-free China for short-term stays: Norway, Finland, Iceland, Denmark, Slovakia, Monaco, Andorra and Liechtenstein.
The Foreign Ministry of China said the decision would be kept in place until December 31, 2025.
The Ministry also announced that it extended the visa-free policy to nine more countries until the end of 2025.
The decision means that from November 30, 2024, nationals of the following countries will be able to enter China without visas: Croatia, Bulgaria, Estonia, Romania, Northern Macedonia, Montenegro, Latvia, Malta, and Japan.