{"id":2203763,"date":"2024-02-08T16:30:03","date_gmt":"2024-02-08T07:30:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/?p=2203763"},"modified":"2024-02-09T18:20:17","modified_gmt":"2024-02-09T09:20:17","slug":"tourism-recovery-sees-china-nudging-tourists-from-south-korea-other-us-allies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2024\/02\/tourism-recovery-sees-china-nudging-tourists-from-south-korea-other-us-allies\/","title":{"rendered":"Tourism recovery sees China nudging tourists from South Korea, other US allies"},"content":{"rendered":"
As international travel rebounds post-COVID-19, the Chinese government appears to be nudging its citizens away from visiting U.S. allies like South Korea, Japan and Australia.<\/span><\/p>\n The <\/span>sluggish resurgence<\/span><\/a> of Chinese outbound tourism emerged as a notable surprise in 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n Following its reopening in early 2023, China pushed to revive international travel. By February, it had removed restrictions on group travel to various <\/span>Southeast Asian countries<\/span><\/a> and New Zealand. This was extended to other major destinations, including <\/span>South Korea<\/span><\/a>, Japan, Australia and the U.S. by August.<\/span><\/p>\n However, the anticipated flood of Chinese tourists fell short. Destinations such as South Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Europe have witnessed only modest increases in Chinese visitor numbers, remaining <\/span>well below<\/span><\/a> those of 2019.<\/span><\/p>\n In 2019, nearly 155 million Chinese traveled abroad; by the first half of 2023, this number had dropped to just over 40 million. A January report by <\/span>Bloomberg<\/span><\/i><\/a> estimates this decline had removed $130 billion from the global economy.<\/span><\/p>\n In 2023, about <\/span>2 million Chinese tourists<\/span><\/a> visited Korea, merely 34% of the 2019 figure.<\/span><\/p>\n Although the numbers are on the rise, with Korean industry leaders <\/span>anticipating 85,000 Chinese visitors<\/span><\/a> during the Lunar New Year alone, they still fall short of industry experts\u2019 expectations. This contrasts starkly with the surge in outbound travel from South Korea, Japan and Taiwan since the end of the pandemic.<\/span><\/p>\n For instance, the number of Koreans traveling to Australia in Nov. 2023 <\/span>exceeded<\/span><\/a> the figures from the same month in 2019. Yet, the number of Chinese visitors was less than half of the level of that time.<\/span><\/p>\n