Targeted visa-free travel policy boosts tourism

Autumn spreads its colors through Huangshizhai in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park in Hunan province. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)

An increasing number of tourists from South Korea are visiting Zhangjiajie, Hunan province since China allowed visa-free travel for those from the neighboring country since last month, according to local authorities.

The natural beauty, mountainous scenery and yearslong efforts to offer targeted travel services to South Korean visitors in Zhangjiajie have made it a perfect travel destination for people in the country, tourism insiders said.

Since Nov 8, China has allowed 15-day visa-free travel for tourists from South Korea and on Nov 30 extended the number of days they could stay to 30.

According to the Zhangjiajie bureau of culture, tourism, radio, television and sports, the number of South Korean visitors to the city from Nov 9 to Dec 4 has increased by 108 percent year-on-year to reach almost 27,000.

Zhangjiajie immigration authorities said the number of South Korean travelers arriving via international flights to the city from Nov 8 to Dec 4 reached 19,700, with 73 percent of them pursuing visa-free entry.

Data from the online travel agent Ctrip show that from Nov 8 to Dec 2, the number of bookings made by visitors from South Korea to China increased by 15 percent month-on-month and more than 150 percent year-on-year during the same period.

Among the bookings, almost 40 percent chose to arrive in China on Friday or Saturday for weekend travel, the platform said.

South Korean TV station SBS reported that many young people in the country travel to China after work on Friday and spend the weekend there.

Ding Shibiao, deputy general manager of Hunan Star Tours International Travel Service Co, a travel agency in Zhangjiajie, said the visa-free travel policy is expected to increase the number of South Korean visitors to Zhangjiajie by up to 50 percent next year.

Previously, many of the South Korean visitors to the city were elderly people who wanted to appreciate the mountains in the city, he said. Ding expects that there will be more young people from South Korea to the city next year as they become fans of visa-free travel.

Cai Long, a tour guide in Zhangjiajie, said since the visa-free travel policy was issued, the number of travel groups from South Korea has increased greatly.

Winter is not a peak season for traveling in Zhangjiajie, but this year the number of travelers from the country has increased a lot, he said.

South Korean travelers like to go mountain hiking in Zhangjiajie and there are Korean travel signs as well as authentic Korean food in the city, which caters to their needs, he said.