This file photo shows Chinese shoppers waiting in line to buy goods at a local duty free store in Seoul. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Feb. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — China is now permitting its citizens to go on group tours overseas for the first time since the onset of the pandemic. South Korea, however, was not included on the list of approved travel destinations.
Chinese media outlets reported that some 100 Chinese tourists traveling to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Egypt departed from Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport at 12:15 a.m. on Monday.
The measure came into effect three years after the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism suspended all sales of group tours overseas and flight-hotel reservation packages on Jan. 26, 2020.
On Jan. 20, Beijing allowed a trial for all tourism agencies to resume sales of group travel and flight-hotel reservation packages for 20 designated countries.
The Chinese government has allowed travel to 20 countries including Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore.
The U.S., South Korea and Japan have been excluded from the list.
As such, it is expected that much of China’s oversea travel demand will be met by Southeast Asia for the time being.
South Korea started requiring COVID-19 testing for arrivals from China on Jan. 2 and suspended the issuance of short-term visas from diplomatic missions in China.
In retaliation, China also suspended short-term visa issuance for South Koreans.
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
