South Korea to offer visa-free entry to Chinese group tourists

South Korea has said it would offer a visa exemption to Chinese group visitors in the third quarter of the year to boost tourism.

China and South Korea are close neighbors, and strengthening cultural exchanges serves the interests of both sides, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning in response at a daily press briefing in Beijing on Friday.

South Korea said on Wednesday that the latest move aims to boost the country's tourism amid sluggish domestic demand and ahead of a meeting of leaders from 21 economies for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in the fourth quarter of this year in the southeastern city of Gyeongju, known for heritage tourism.

"We will introduce in the third quarter a temporary visa waiver for group tourists from China to speed up the recovery in the number of Chinese visitors," said Choi Sang-mok, the country's acting president.

South Korea's new visa-free policy will significantly enhance the convenience for Chinese tourists visiting the country, and the simplified visa process is expected to attract more elderly and family travelers, as well as unleash group travel demand from third- and fourth-tier Chinese cities, according to an analysis by the research institute of Ctrip, a leading Chinese online travel agency.

In addition, the return of Chinese group tourists will boost the recovery of South Korea's retail, duty-free and catering industries, further promoting people-to-people exchanges between the two neighbors, according to the analysis.

Ctrip data also shows that the number of travel bookings to South Korea by Chinese mainland tourists this year has increased by nearly 20 percent year on year.

Chinese nationals made up the biggest share of international travelers visiting South Korea last year, accounting for 28 percent, according to government data.

South Korea's move also comes after China's decision last November to extend visa-free entry to nationals from South Korea and other Asian and European countries traveling for business, tourism and family visits until the end of this year.

(With input from Reuters)