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According to the Korea Tourism Organization on August 21, the number of foreign visitors to Korea in the first half of this year reached 8,825,967, marking a 14.6% increase compared to the same period last year (7,701,407). By nationality, Chinese visitors accounted for approximately 2.53 million, representing 28.6% of the total and ranking overwhelmingly first. Japan ranked second with 1.62 million visitors (18.3%), followed by Taiwan with 860,000 visitors (9.8%). Visitors from these top three countries made up 56.7% of the total, surpassing half of all foreign arrivals.

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As Chinese tourists have become the largest customer group for Korea's tourism industry, the government is making greater efforts to attract them. On August 6, the government held a "Tourism Revitalization Mini-Policy Task Force (TF)" meeting at the Government Complex Seoul, presided over by Prime Minister Kim Minseok, and decided to allow visa-free entry for Chinese group tourists from September 29 to June 30 next year.

Chinese tourists arriving at the international terminal of Gimpo International Airport.

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The government stated, "Given the rapid recovery of the inbound tourism market, the implementation of this visa-free policy is expected to generate additional demand for travel to Korea, thereby providing a tangible boost to the local economy and domestic consumption." Previously, China has allowed visa-free entry for Korean nationals since November last year, and the current policy was formulated by the Korean government in response, following consultations among relevant ministries.

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Previously, the number of Chinese tourists visiting Korea peaked at 8.07 million in 2016. However, in the following year, after China imposed a ban on travel to Korea in retaliation for the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, the number of visitors was halved to 4.17 million in 2017. The COVID-19 pandemic further reduced the number to just 170,000 in 2021. After the endemic phase, in November 2023, China fully resumed group tours to Korea for the first time in six years and five months, resulting in a notable recovery: 2.02 million Chinese tourists in 2023 and 4.6 million last year.

The implementation of the current visa-free policy for Chinese group tourists is expected to further accelerate the recovery of Chinese tourist numbers. In the first half of this year alone, 2.53 million Chinese visitors came to Korea, a 13.9% increase compared to last year. While this is 90.2% of the pre-pandemic level in 2019 and 66.2% of the 2016 peak, there is still considerable room for further growth.

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The new visa-free entry policy for Chinese group tourists is also expected to help address the chronic tourism balance deficit in Korea's tourism industry. In the first half of this year, Korea's tourism balance deficit was recorded at $5.1998 billion (approximately 7.22 trillion won). Although the number and spending of foreign tourists increased, the main reason for the deficit is the significantly higher overseas travel demand from Korean nationals.

In the first half of this year, 14,563,624 Koreans traveled abroad, a 3.9% increase compared to the same period last year (14,023,382). Although the growth rate has slowed somewhat, the upward trend continues, and the number is expected to surpass the previous record of 28.71 million in 2019.

Photo by Naver Calendar

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With overseas travel demand expected to reach an all-time high, the government has made it clear that it is not considering designating a temporary holiday in October. According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance and other sources, the government is not reviewing the designation of a temporary holiday on October 10. The government believes that extending the holiday period by designating a temporary holiday could lead more people to plan overseas trips rather than domestic ones, thereby diminishing the actual effect of boosting domestic consumption.

In fact, when a temporary holiday was designated on January 27, which coincided with the Lunar New Year holiday and allowed for up to six days off, the effect on domestic consumption fell short of expectations. At that time, the number of outbound travelers reached a record 2.97 million, but domestic tourism spending decreased by 7.4% compared to the previous month and by 1.8% compared to the same period last year.