Thursday, March 20, 2025
South Korea introduced Thursday that it’s going to grant visa exemptions to Chinese language vacationers from the third quarter of this yr, with the goal of stimulating tourism within the midst of the weak home demand and in preparation for an upcoming Asia-Pacific summit on the finish of this yr.
This choice follows the announcement of November of China, which prolonged the free admission of visas to the South Korean residents, in addition to these of different Asian and European nations, for enterprise, tourism and household visits, till the top of this yr.
South Korea would be the host of the Asia Financial Cooperation Discussion board and the Pacific (APEC) on the finish of this yr, gathering 21 economies within the historic metropolis of Gyeongju, acknowledged by its patrimonial tourism.
In 2024, South Korea noticed a 48% enhance in guests, welcoming 16.four million vacationers, though nonetheless a bit beneath 17.5 million recorded in 2019 earlier than the COVID-19 pandemic. Amongst these guests, Chinese language residents constituted the most important group, which represents 28%, based mostly on authorities statistics.
Virtually a 3rd of the guests had been ladies aged 20 and 30.
In recent times, the cultural affect of South Korea-Spanning Okay-Pop, style and entertainment-has gained worldwide consideration, and the federal government goals to capitalize on this rising development.
To additional enhance tourism, officers plan to introduce particular initiatives, comparable to customized vacationer packages targeted on Korean delicacies and sweetness merchandise, with the goal of attracting 18.5 million guests in 2025.
Nonetheless, the financial perspective of South Korea for this yr appears much less optimistic, since shopper spending stays reasonable, largely attributable to steady political instability. This contains the temporary and sudden imposition of martial legislation in December 2024, which has had a exceptional impression on international tourism. Nations comparable to Australia, France, Chile, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore and Papua New Guinea have been affected by these developments, with fluctuations within the variety of anticipated guests all year long.
