The Korean media reported on the 19th that, driven by South Korea‘s implementation of a temporary visa exemption policy for Chinese group tourists, the scale of Chinese tourists visiting South Korea by cruise ship has significantly increased. This year, Chinese cruise ship trips to South Korea are expected to increase by 21 times compared to last year. South Korea‘s main ports such as Busan and Incheon have all been deployed intensively, fully responding to the peak of entry, ensuring smooth customs clearance and reception for tourists.
According to government data, 173 Chinese cruise ships are scheduled to dock at the port of Busan this year, compared with only 8 last year. In response to the pressure brought by the concentration of cruise ships in the port, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries led a meeting on January 19th at the port of Busan to focus on issues such as delays in boarding and disembarkation, in order to fully improve the efficiency of customs clearance and reception capabilities for cruise ships.
In addition to Busan, other Korean ports such as Incheon have also experienced a surge in Chinese cruise ship demand. According to a previous report by the Associated Press, large Chinese shipping companies have listed Incheon as an alternative destination due to the decrease in Chinese tourists visiting Japan. Incheon is closer and has better infrastructure.
According to the Incheon Port Authority‘s data, in the first 10 days of January this year, Incheon Port confirmed that 64 cruise ships were scheduled to enter the port, of which 44 started from China, accounting for 68.8 percent, a significant increase from last year. The report said that the 77,000-ton Tianjin Oriental International Cruise Ship “Dream”, the 102,000-ton “Ideal”, and China‘s first domestic large cruise ship, the 136,000-ton “Ada Modu”, will all visit Incheon Port regularly. The Korean media believed that as Chinese cruise ships‘ stay in Korean ports gradually extended, some trips have already changed from short stops to “night stops”, a change seen as a positive signal to drive local tourism and consumption.
The arrival of Chinese tourists has also injected significant dynamic energy into South Korea‘s entry tourism market. According to South Korea‘s Asian Economy early this month, 377,800 Chinese tourists visited South Korea in November 2025, an increase of 26.9% year-on-year; from January to November 2025, the cumulative number of Chinese tourists visiting South Korea reached 5,087,100, an increase of 18.4% year-on-year, accounting for 29.2% of all foreign tourists entering the country during the same period. China has once again become South Korea‘s largest core customer source market.