Return of group tours from China

Like it or not, Koreans and Chinese are bound as close neighbors.

China lifted its ban on outbound group tours to 78 destinations, including Korea, the United States and Japan, paving the way for a full-fledged return of Chinese tourists, called youkers, to Korea in more than six years. Group tours to Korea had been de facto restricted from March 2017 in China’s retaliation for the deployment of the U.S. antimissile system — the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) — in Korea.

The news is much-awaited by the travel industry in Korea, which has yet to pick up from the standstill during the Covid-19 pandemic and the absence of Chinese group travelers. Shares of duty-free store operators, cosmetics, and hospitality facilities have all jumped at the news.

Beijing has been incrementally lifting group travel restrictions since it dropped the zero-Covid policy in January. The Chinese government amed 20 countries, including Thailand and Indonesia, for unrestricted travel. In March, China added 40 other countries, including France, Spain, Vietnam and Brazil, in the list of free group tours. But Beijing has maintained the group travel ban on South Korea, the U.S. and Japan until latest lifting.

The full lifting stems from multiple factors. Since Chinese President Xi Jinping entered his third term in March, political priority has been placed on reviving the local economy. Faced with unprecedented deflationary pressure, China hopes that a revitalized travel can stimulate consumption and help its struggling travel agencies.

But Beijing has turned cold toward Seoul and Tokyo, as they strengthened ties with the U.S. amid their heightened hegemonic contest. China has been irking foreign visitors by mandating fingerprinting registration after it resumed the issuance of tour visas early this year. But fingerprinting will only be exempted for Korean visa applicants until the end of this year. The Chinese government may have considered foreigners’ reluctance to travel to China since the broad updates to the counter-espionage law that took effect last month.

The liberalization of civilian travels to China could help private-sector exchanges between the two countries. Korean sentiment towards China has been worsening since the Thadd-related retaliation. The rate of Koreans’ hostility towards China peaked at 81 percent in 2022. Revived exchanges could ease negative feelings towards one another.

Like it or not, Koreans and Chinese are bound as close neighbors. August 24 marks the 31th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relationship between the two countries. The 19th Summer Asian Games kicks off in Hangzhou, China on Sept. 23. China must continue with its friendly measures to earn confidence from the Korean people.