Illustration: Xia Qing/GT

Due to improving ties and China's extension of its visa-free policy for South Korean travelers, there has been a rapid increase in South Koreans' demand for travel to China, the Yonhap News Agency reported on Sunday.

From January 5 to 21, bookings for trips to China soared 87.8 percent year-on-year, with bookings for travel products to Shanghai surging 142.4 percent, according to South Korean travel agency Verygoodtour. Data from travel agency Yellow Balloon showed that sales of Spring Festival travel packages this year increased by more than 21 percent year-on-year, with Chinese tour packages accounting for 16.5 percent of the total, according to the Yonhap report.

The tourism boom is not one-sided. The number of Chinese tourists visiting South Korea is also on the rise. 

Media reports indicate that amid South Korea's temporary visa waiver program for Chinese tourists, 173 Chinese cruise ship visits are scheduled for the Port of Busan, South Korea's largest sea port, this year, surging 21-fold compared with eight cruise visits in 2025, according to data from South Korea's Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.

This two-way tourism boom is a microcosm of the growing economic exchanges and cooperation between China and South Korea. 

Policy dividends are undoubtedly a strong driver behind the bilateral tourism boom. China has extended its visa-free policy until the end of 2026, and South Korea has implemented a temporary visa-free policy for Chinese group tourists. 

The convenience of visa-free travel has not only stimulated mass tourism demand but also made the "flying to China right after work on Friday" tag a trending topic on South Korean social media platforms. Young South Koreans are increasingly interested in cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, while Chinese tourists, mainly in family groups and young people, are flocking to destinations such as Seoul and Jeju.

The tourism surge is a strong testament to the underlying economic complementarity between the two countries and could inject fresh momentum into upgrading bilateral economic and trade relations. The Bank of Korea estimates that an increase of 1 million Chinese tourists could raise South Korea's GDP by up to 0.08 percentage points. 

A separate study by Korea Culture and Tourism Institute found that the resumption of Chinese group tours in 2023 gave a boost of 0.21 percentage points to the country's GDP, according to the Korea Herald. At the same time, the influx of South Korean tourists has boosted consumption across multiple sectors in China.

The large-scale personnel flows driven by tourism exchanges directly boost the growth of related industries such as hotels, catering and transportation, while also creating new opportunities for bilateral cooperation in a wider range of industrial fields. 

Consumption by South Korean tourists in China helps stimulate local industrial upgrading and innovation, while travel and shopping by Chinese tourists in South Korea bring considerable benefits and growth momentum to South Korean economy. 

Through the communication window of tourism, businesses from both countries can gain a deeper insight into the demand characteristics and consumption preferences of each other's markets, and accordingly adjust their industrial layouts and product strategies in a targeted manner to promote a higher level of mutual benefit and win-win results.

More importantly, the potential of China-South Korea economic cooperation extends far beyond tourism. The current travel fervor is merely the "tip of the iceberg" of the potential for bilateral collaboration. The two nations possess vast and profound opportunities for collaboration in many strategic emerging fields such as digital economy, green energy, biotechnology, and high-end manufacturing. 

China's massive market, comprehensive industrial system and application capabilities, combined with South Korea's leading-edge technologies and brand strengths in semiconductors and advanced materials, can generate synergy that transcends traditional trade models. Joint ventures in third-party markets, co-building low-carbon industrial chains, and strengthened collaboration in technological innovation are just a few examples.

China and South Korea are important neighbors that cannot be separated. The tourism boom sends a clear signal from both sides for strengthened interaction. It fosters a conducive atmosphere for discussing and unlocking new collaborative frontiers. Both sides need to cherish and leverage this positive momentum.