China Joins South Korea, Japan, Usa, Korean Air & China Eastern Expand Services As Bookings Rise — Lotte Welcomes Chinese Groups; Seoul Hotels Report Higher Occupancy After Visa Reciprocity

Published on October 31, 2025

China, joins South Korea, Japan, USA, Korean Air & China Eastern Expand Services arsenic Bookings Rise — Lotte Welcomes Chinese Groups; Seoul Hotels Report Higher Occupancy After Visa Reciprocity. The new, reciprocal visa moves person already reshaped short-haul travel: South Korea’s aviator visa-free strategy for Chinese group visitors (effective 29 Sept 2025–30 June 2026, 15-day stays) and China’s earlier visa exemption for South Korean passport holders (effective 8 Nov 2024–31 Dec 2025, 15-day stays) removed cardinal clash and sparked a accelerated rebound successful bookings. Airlines including Korean Air and China Eastern person accrued frequencies connected China–Seoul routes and added play charters to accommodate group tours, cutting formation times to astir 2 to two-and-a-half hours connected main metropolis pairs. Retailers specified arsenic Lotte Duty Free reported coordinated group pick-ups and beardown shopper traffic, and Seoul hotels — particularly properties adjacent Myeong-dong, Gangnam and Incheon airdrome — logged noticeably higher occupancy during nan autumn vacation window. For travelers, that intends much formation options, fuller but vibrant edifice scenes, and a constrictive seasonal model to book group packages aliases elastic fares if you want to sojourn while visa facilitation is successful effect.

Lotte Welcomes Chinese Groups; Seoul Hotels Report Higher Occupancy After Visa Reciprocity

Seoul is engaged again. Flights are fuller. Stores hum. Hotels station dependable gains. The logic is simple: visa clash fell this year. South Korea opened a temporary, targeted visa-free programme for Chinese group visitors connected Sept. 29, 2025. China had earlier relaxed rules for South Korean passport holders. The consequence is contiguous and visible. Airlines move seats. Hotels return bookings. Tour operators creation packages. This is simply a recreation communicative first — bully news for group who emotion short trips, shopping sprees and taste nutrient tours. ([Ministry of Foreign Affairs][1])

Why nan alteration matters now

South Korea’s aviator runs done June 30, 2026. Chinese group tours of 3 aliases much group tin sojourn mainland Korea for up to 15 days without a visa. The timing was planned to beryllium conscionable earlier China’s Golden Week and different autumn holidays. Travel platforms reported early booking booms astir nan vacation window. OTAs flagged beardown week-ahead request and triple-digit year-on-year spikes for immoderate merchandise types. If you scheme a short trip, this model makes applicable sense.

Airlines: much seats, much options

Korean Air and different carriers person moved fast. Korean airlines boosted frequencies to Chinese cities successful precocious 2024–25 and continued adjustments into autumn 2025. Korean Air accrued play China services and restarted respective routes arsenic request recovered. China Eastern and China Southern besides tally much flights and other spot capacity crossed Asia. Aviation trackers statement that wide formation numbers connected China–Korea routes person rebounded to, aliases above, pre-pandemic levels this year. Expect much play charters, other Friday evening flights and added low-cost options connected short routes. (koreajoongangdaily.joins.com)

Flight specifications visitors should know

Direct formation times are short. Seoul (ICN) to Beijing aliases Shanghai is astir 2 to 2 and a half hours successful nan air. Schedules tally aggregate times regular connected main metropolis pairs. Korean Air, Asiana, China Eastern, China Southern, Jeju Air and Hainan run galore of those services. Book early for Golden Week aliases nationalist holidays. Seats capable accelerated erstwhile visa windows open. Use fare alerts connected awesome OTAs; cheque refundable fares if your dates are fixed. Typical non-stop formation durations:

• Seoul–Beijing: ~2h 10–2h 30.
• Seoul–Shanghai: ~2h 5–2h 15.

What airlines are offering

Carriers are adding capacity and tailoring products.

Expect:

• Additional play charters for groups tours. (Dream Cruises and group arrivals astatine Incheon reported precocious September.) ([Moodie Davitt Report][5])
• Additional fund friends options connected short hops via Jeju and Busan.
• Additional codeshares and accrued spot readiness betwixt Koreans and Chinese airlines to fulfill package circuit demand.

If you are looking for a business cabin, possibly you could look for premium promotions. For those walking economy, nan astir effective clip to book a formation is astir 6-8 weeks ahead. ([TravelWires][6])

Hotels and hospitality: wherever to enactment and why

Post COVID, nan edifice marketplace successful Seoul is showing signs of recovery. The mid-market and upscale segments of hotels person seen an summation successful RevPAR and occupancy complaint increases are anticipated to come, owed to nan presence of Chinese travelers. The luxury accommodations successful Myeong-dong, on Gangnam, and astir Incheon Airport are afloat booked by nan holidays. Central territory midscale hotels are a bully action for families and group travelers. Chinese travelers are nan attraction of targeted packages and inventory adjustments by section edifice chains and world groups, including Lotte, Shilla, Marriott, Hyatt, Accor, and IHG. As per nan marketplace statement by JLL, RevPAR figures for luxury accommodations of hotels successful Seoul is beardown and nan mid-scale hotels are showing bully occupancy levels. ([JLL][7])

Where to book

For nan precocious season, it is advisable to reserve astatine slightest 6 weeks up of time. For Jeju land and nan celebrated tourer areas successful Seoul (Myeong-dong, Hongdae, Insadong), nan champion clip to book is 2-3 months successful advance, pinch October and early December arsenic nan target months. Lots of hotels person “group tour” packages which travel pinch breakfast, shuttle service, and taxation refund opportunities. Group pick-ups and unsocial shopping routes are planned by Lotte Duty Free and different stores. This is adjuvant if you want a straightforward shopping experience. ([Moodie Davitt Report][5])

What Are nan Rules for Tourist Entry? What Rules Must Tourists Follow? This Section is for Chinese Tourists Traveling successful a Group:

• Take a group circuit pinch a certified recreation agency that is connected nan government-approved list. Make judge to cheque if nan agency is connected nan database earlier paying. ([Ministry of Foreign Affairs][1])
• Bring your recreation passport, route, accommodation reservation, impervious of return ticket, and immoderate recreation documents arsenic group registrations whitethorn return spot earlier your group arrives pinch nan migration authorities.
• Retain a copy, either integer aliases printed of nan manifest, arsenic good arsenic your recognition page.

When you are walking from South Korea to China:

• South Korea is connected China’s visa-exemption list. For South Korean passport holders, China’s visa-exemption model will beryllium progressive from November 8, 2024. Please cheque for nan astir updated extremity dates and immoderate city-level regulations. ([State Council of China][8])

Don’t hide rate and cards

At tourer spots, South Korea is now accepting Chinese mobile payments. Alipay and WeChat Pay are accepted astatine unit and duty-free shops. Also, beryllium judge to person immoderate rate connected hand, and cards. Many group recreation plans person arranged for shopping stops, and large duty-free shops for illustration Lotte supply typical assistance for these groups. You tin expect other support erstwhile shopping successful Myeong-dong and ample section stores. ([Moodie Davitt Report][5])

What to spot and really to scheme a short itinerary

Korea is perfect for short 3 to 6 time trips. Here are immoderate speedy tourer friends ideas:

Seoul 3 time essentials (city and shopping)

Day 1: Gyeongbokgung Palace, Bukchon Hanok Village, and crafts successful Insadong.

Day 2: Myeong-dong, N Seoul Tower astatine dusk, and a K-Beauty session aliases section store.

Day 3: Hongdae, thoroughfare culture, stream locomotion astatine Han River; and evening duty-free shopping pickup.

These highlights are usually coupled pinch a cosmetics shopping extremity and a section BBQ dinner.

Taking a 3-day break to Jeju Island to retrieve nan beauty of quality and to relax.

On nan first day, I did Hallasan easy-trail and past visited Dongmun Market.

On nan 2nd day, I saw nan sunrise astatine Seongsan Ilchulbong and went connected a coastal drive.

On nan past day, I went to nan Jeju people village, and past nan remainder of nan time was spent connected nan beach.

Visitors to Jeju person a longer abstracted visa-waiver deal. Note that Jeju does person different rules for those connected group visas to nan mainland. ([Ministry of Foreign Affairs][1])

The hospitality assemblage benefits from predictability. Group visitors bring reliable spending. They typically capable mid-range hotels and acquisition all-inclusive tours that are system astir shopping. The luxury hotels benefit, too, connected nan different hand, because they big premium clients and repetition guests from different markets. Hoteliers person noticed that occupancy rates thin to summation successful premier neighborhoods and past dispersed to nan remainder of nan metropolis arsenic much seats connected planes are added for that route. The Chinese request meant hotels should person F&B menus, in-house shopping services, and different outlined manufacture services successful Chinese. ([JLL][7])

Short trips are simplified, conscionable retrieve to cheque nan section news, that is ever a wise choice. Protests regarding governmental matters were occurring successful Seoul successful early October. The authorities suggested restraint and was fresh to enactment to protect overseas tourists. Hold connected to your recreation documents and travel your circuit leader aliases edifice concierge during these times. Travel security is ever a bully choice. ([Reuters][9])

The economical effect is estimated utilizing elemental math, specifically elemental multipliers.

The Bank of Korea estimates that an further 1 cardinal Chinese visitors could summation Korea’s GDP by an further 0.08 percent points and summation gross from tourism by 2.56 trillion won. According to 2019 pre-pandemic statistics, Chinese visitors were important spenders compared to different travelers, offering a unsmooth estimate for planners. These numbers explicate really quickly retailers and hoteliers respond to changes successful visa policies. ([koreatimes.co.kr][10])

Travelers tin book smarter by utilizing these tips:

• To entree visa-free travel, you must beryllium portion of an approved circuit group. Be judge to cheque nan agency and nan group size. ([Ministry of Foreign Affairs][1])
• Take advantage of value search features for flights to Seoul and China. Airlines summation nan number of seats and little prices correct earlier awesome holidays. Buy erstwhile you spot a bully price. ([koreajoongangdaily.joins.com][2])
• During highest edifice booking times, take hotels that let free cancellation. Many hotels will little rates connected short announcement during highest times. ([JLL][7])
• Always bring ID and impervious of booking some connected a telephone and printed. Travel groups will cheque manifests.
• Know a fewer phrases successful Korean for carrier and shopping. A translator app will help.
• Buy recreation security that covers changes and expenses successful health.

What hotels and circuit operators are doing

The OTAs and circuit operators person made nan astir of nan caller policies. During nan Golden Week promotions, Trip.com and section OTAs stated location was a grounds number of searches and bookings. Hotels adjusted their room allocations accordingly. Lotte Duty Free and different large retailers organized their pickup schedules during cruise and group arrivals. For shoppers, these operations smoothed retired nan clash while besides providing organized, taste unit time tours. ([TTG Asia][11])

Longer term: What to salary attraction to

Visa pilots commencement pinch a bang and settee down. Analysts pass that hose profits are expected to not summation pinch nan travel of caller passengers if nan hose expands excessively quickly. However, each parts of nan recreation assemblage should gain: airlines, hotels, retail, and inbound recreation experiences. Over nan adjacent six months, salary attraction to these 3 indicators:

1. Passenger load factors connected nan Seoul–China routes (airline schedules and formation trackers). ([Reuters][12])
2. Weekly edifice RevPAR reports for Seoul and Jeju (STR and section marketplace notes). ([STR][13])
3. OTA booking trends during holidays and agelong weekends (Trip.com and section portals). ([TTG Asia][11])

China, joins South Korea, Japan, USA, Korean Air & China Eastern Expand Services arsenic Bookings Rise — Lotte Welcomes Chinese Groups; Seoul Hotels Report Higher Occupancy After Visa Reciprocity.
The reciprocal visa measures — Seoul’s aviator for Chinese group tours and China’s earlier visa-exemption for South Koreans — person spurred airlines to adhd frequencies and charters while Seoul’s hotels and duty-free retailers study noticeable upticks successful bookings and shopper postulation during nan autumn vacation window.

Final thoughts from a traveler

This is simply a convenient clip to sojourn Korea. There are a assortment of tours, it’s easy to get there, hotels are prepared, and retailers are fresh and eager to serve.

But move quickly. Peak windows capable quickly. Get a elastic ticket, subordinate a vetted group if you request nan visa benefit, and support your plans simple. The visa reciprocity opens a short, lively play for recreation betwixt China and Korea. For savvy tourists, it offers a well-timed chance to battalion a civilization fix, a shopping spree and a play formation into a single, easy itinerary.

Safe travels. Book smart. Pack light. Take a bully camera. Enjoy Seoul.

.