South Korea top tourist destination for Chinese

South Korea became the top travel destination for Chinese tourists in 2014, said China's largest online travel agency, Ctrip.com International Ltd.

According to the Ctrip report, about 50% of tourists go on package tours. Among all tourists, the majority are female visitors and people born in the 1980s.

The Korea Tourism Bureau's latest statistics show that more than 6.1 million Chinese tourists visited Korea in 2014. The number of exchanges in both directions between the two countries exceeded ten million for the first time last year.

The South Korea business division of Ctrip's tourism department said that the growing number of Chinese tourists to South Korea is the combined result of easier visa procedures and improved transport capacity of airlines and cruiseships.

Visa-free travel for Chinese tourists who want to visit Jejudo island is another reason why South Korea is popular among Chinese travelers, together with the lower prices they can find in South Korea.

In addition, Chinese youngsters' obsession with "Hanliu", also known as the K-pop wave - the strong influence and popularity of South Korean pop culture since the late 1990s - is another reason for the tourist boom.

Chinese tourists from first tier cities often visit South Korea more than once, but a rapid growth in additional trips is now becoming apparent among visitors from second and third tier cities.

Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou account for the largest percentage of outbound Chinese tourists. Seoul, Jeju Island and Gangwon-do in South Korea's northeast are the three most popular destinations.

With the aim of boosting tourism and promoting people-to-people exchanges, the 2015 Chinese Tourism Year in South Korea was launched on January 23. For South Korea, 2015 will be the "Year of Visiting China" and for China 2016 will be the "Year of Visiting South Korea".

The Korean government also plans to substantially simplify the visa procedures for Chinese tourists in 2015, in anticipation of a further growth in tourism between the two countries.