Hohhot tourists to enter S Korea visa-free  

内蒙古获批开通直飞仁川包机航线 游客可免签入境韩国

记者5日从内蒙古旅游局获悉，内蒙古已获批开通呼和浩特直飞韩国仁川的旅游包机航线，目前，游客已开始报名。本趟航线的开通意味着韩国法务部出台的《中国游客无需签证入境韩国》制度正式开始在内蒙古执行。

CNS (Hohhot) — North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region will launch a direct flight route between its capital city Hohhot and the South Korean port city of Incheon, according to the Inner Mongolia Tourism Administration on Tuesday.

The new route marks the start of the No-Visa Entry Program for Chinese Tourists introduced by the South Korea Ministry of Justice (MOJ) in Inner Mongolia, the administration said.

With the program, Chinese tour groups, who transfer at Incheon International Airport or Gimhae International Airport to a domestic flight to Jeju Island, will be permitted to stay in the country without a visa for 72 hours, said Li Jianxu, general manager of the Inner Mongolia Railway International Travel Service.

"The simplified procedures will reduce the journey by more than half an hour. Moreover, tourists can also opt for a tour of Seoul before heading to Jeju Island," said Li.

"As a two-way 'passport' for both tourists from Inner Mongolia and South Korea, it will exert positive influence on mutual exchanges between the two countries," said Sun Jian, deputy director of the Promotion Section of the Hohhot Municipal Tourism Administration.

The program, which began on a trial basis on Oct 29, 2012, was officially implemented on May 1. The first Hohhot-Incheon direct flight will take off on July 10.