The South Korean government announced plans to introduce a visa-free policy for Chinese group tourists in the third quarter of this year, Yonhap news agency reported Wednesday.
South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and tourism said Tuesday it will formally announce the specific implementation plan of the visa-free policy next month after fully listening to the opinions of all parties. Chinese passport holders currently enjoy a 30-day visa waiver for the Jeju Island. The South Korean government implemented a 15-day visa-free entry policy around the 2018 Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Pingchang for Chinese citizens with no criminal records in the country and who met certain conditions, but it is the first time visa-free travel has been offered to group tourists. South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and tourism pointed out that China implemented a visa-free entry policy for South Korean citizens for the first time last November, and the government decided to respond to the measure by implementing a temporary visa exemption policy for Chinese group tourists.
The tourism and duty-free industries expect the visa-free measures to boost the market for package tours to South Korea, Yonhap News Agency said. The tourism industry believes that the visa problem is the main factor hindering Chinese tourists to South Korea, and the government’s promotion of the visa-free policy is expected to boost the short-term tourism demand of Chinese tourists to South Korea, demand for cultural experiences such as K-POP shows and meet-the-fans events will also grow. The duty-free industry said that Chinese group tourists have always been the main consumers of duty-free stores. After the time-limited visa-free measure is officially implemented, the number of brand customers in duty-free stores is expected to increase, which will have a positive impact on sales performance.