Has China partially lifted the ban on group tours to South Korea?

"China National Tourism Administration partially lifted the ban on group tours from Beijing and Shandong to South Korea today"-165438+1October 28th, Yonhap News Agency quoted an unnamed source as saying. The accuracy of the news is unknown, but it has caused "sadness and joy" in the Korean industry. At the regular press conference of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China on 28th, a reporter asked China "what's your comment on the resumption of tourism exchanges between the two countries"? China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said he didn't know what the reporter mentioned, adding that "China has a positive and open attitude towards exchanges and cooperation between China and South Korea in various fields. I hope that the ROK and China will work together to create favorable conditions for exchanges and cooperation between the two countries. "

Yonhap News Agency reported on the 28th that the National Tourism Department of China held a meeting that day and decided to open group tourists from Beijing and Shandong to visit South, but prohibited group tourists from staying at Lotte Hotel and taking them to Lotte Duty Free Shop for shopping. A related person in the tourism industry in Beijing and South Korea said that although other regions have not lifted the ban, it means that there will be measures in the future. Some analysts believe that economic and trade exchanges between China and South Korea resumed after the news of "Sade" was released by the foreign ministries of China and South Korea on 3 1 last month. Now China has partially lifted the ban on tourism, "sending a signal to improve bilateral relations before the summit meeting". South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Guide said on the 28th that he is paying attention to relevant news. He said that the exchange of personnel between South Korea and China is the foundation of the friendship between the two peoples and the relations between the two countries, and he looks forward to the early and comprehensive resumption of exchanges and cooperation in various fields.

South Korea's News 1 news network quoted South Korea's tourism industry as saying on the 28th that apart from Beijing and Shandong, China National Tourism Administration will hold a meeting in Guangzhou on the 29th to decide whether to allow travel agencies in other regions to also sell group tours to South Korea. According to the report, this is only a demonstration stage of loosening the "ban on South Korea", and whether China will completely lift the "ban on South Korea" depends on the outcome of the talks between South Korea and China. The general manager of a travel agency in South Korea predicted that at present, a large number of China tourists will "return" to South Korea before the 20 18 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. The general manager of a Korean travel agency that caters to South Korean tourists said that at present, the China government has only partially loosened the "ban on South Korea", which is a limited demonstration measure. Only companies are allowed to reward group tourists to South Korea in the form of employees, cruise ships and chartered flight tours are prohibited, and online recruitment of group tourists to South Korea is also prohibited. In his view, this means that China has not loosened the "Korean restrictions", but is just "putting on a show". In addition, regarding the Korean media report that China banned Korean group tours from including Lotte, Lotte Group said on the same day that it was trying to find out the accuracy of relevant information through China legal person.

"Sadness and joy". South Korea said on the 28th that after the news that China allowed some travel agencies in some areas to sell goods for group tours to South Korea came out, South Korea's tourism industry was mixed. Happily, the Korean industry expects that the loosening of China will be a positive signal for South Korea to recapture the tourism market in China. According to the statistics of Korea Tourism Organization, 30% of the tourists who visited Korea last year came from Beijing and Shandong, equivalent to 2.42 million of the 8.06 million China tourists who visited Korea last year. A South Korean travel agent said optimistically that the relevant measures taken by the tourism department in China are a positive signal. Because China National Tourism Administration holds monthly meetings in various regions, travel agencies in other regions are also expected to be allowed to sell group tours to South Korea. Sadly, in view of the fact that the sales of cruise ships to South Korea, chartered flight and other forms of group tours are still restricted, some people in the Korean tourism industry believe that this partial loosening will not bring significant results, because if the chartered flight route cannot be reopened, it will not be possible to ensure the plane seats of a large number of group tourists, and it will also affect the price competitiveness of tourism products.

China has always refused to recognize the "ban on Korea" mentioned by the Korean media. On the 28th, on Ctrip, Qunar and other mainstream online travel platforms. Com and Mama Donkey, no tour groups with South Korea as their destination were found. On the flying pig platform, a travel agency in Beijing provides a group tour from Tianjin to South Korea. The earliest time for sending a group tour is 65438+early February. The customer service of the travel agency told the Global Times reporter on the 28th that the current group travel to South Korea is not fully open and it is impossible to apply for a group visa. Group tours provided by travel agencies can only take individual tourist visas.

On the 28th, it was reported that, as if encouraged by the news that the "Korean Prohibition Order" was partially loosened, the Korean hotel industry had begun to renovate its facilities to welcome the arrival of group tourists from China. According to the statistics of the Institute of Modern Economics, the "Sade" issue reduced the number of people visiting South by 7.988 million, resulting in economic losses of 18. 1 trillion won. Although it seems that China's anti-Sadr measures are gradually loosening, from the perspective of economic and cultural exchanges with China, there is still a long way to go before South Korea can return to the level before the deployment of Sadr. Because the "Sade" issue has not been fundamentally solved, there are still great hidden dangers. It is not easy for China people to accept "Korean Wave" again.