As Soon as South Korea Travel Allowed... 53 Chinese Cruise Ships Headed to Jeju

Group Travel Allowed Announcement Followed by Bookings in Just One Day
Demand Surges, Ports Fully Booked Until March Next Year

One day after China fully lifted the ban on group tours to South Korea for the first time in 6 years and 5 months, it was confirmed on the 11th that 53 cruise ships from China had booked visits to Jeju.

According to Jeju Province, from the 10th when the Chinese government announced the full lifting of group tourism restrictions until the morning of the 11th, 53 cruise ships departing from Shanghai, China, applied to dock at Jeju Island (Jeju Port and Gangjeong Port).

Due to the surge in demand for cruises from China, docking applications at Jeju Port and Gangjeong Port, including existing cruise ship calls, have been fully booked from that day until March next year, covering about 8 months.

Cruise ship. The photo is not related to any specific expression in the article.

The cruise ships in question depart from Shanghai and are scheduled to visit Jeju before heading to Japan and other destinations. Each ship typically carries hundreds to thousands of Chinese tourists.

Previously, Jeju reached a peak in 2016 with 1.2 million cruise tourists annually, most of whom were Chinese tourists. Chinese group tourists were the driving force behind Jeju's cruise tourism market. In particular, these tourists were known for visiting duty-free shops and popular tourist spots in Jeju all at once.

However, after the deployment conflict over THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) in 2017, China imposed the so-called 'Hanhanryeong' (a ban on Korean cultural content), which led to a halt in group tourists from China. Subsequently, the COVID-19 pandemic caused another sharp decline in the number of Chinese tourists.

Fewer than 10,000 Chinese Tourists Visited Jeju Last Year

Group of Chinese tourists visiting Jeju in 2016. That year, Jeju reached a peak with 1.2 million cruise ship tourists annually. [Image source=Yonhap News]

As of last year, only 9,768 Chinese tourists visited Jeju. Although not from China, the number of individual Chinese tourists visiting via cruise ships departing from other countries was about 200.

Meanwhile, Oh Young-hoon, Governor of Jeju Province, said at a meeting on the management measures for accommodating the resumption of Chinese group tourism held at Jeju Provincial Office on the 11th, "Considering that Jeju allows visa-free tourism and has traditionally been favored by Chinese tourists, significant progress can be made in revitalizing the local economy."

Meanwhile, the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced that from the 10th, it would fully allow group tours for its citizens to 78 countries worldwide, including South Korea and the United States.

Earlier this year in January, China abandoned its 'Zero COVID' policy and lifted group travel restrictions for 20 countries including Thailand and Indonesia. In March, it allowed group tours for its citizens to 40 countries including Nepal, Vietnam, Iran, Jordan, France, Spain, and Brazil. However, South Korea, the United States, and Japan were not included in the first and second rounds of group travel allowance lists. The liberalization of group tours by Chinese citizens to South Korea is the first time in about 6 years since 2017.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.