South Korea welcomed more than 2,700 tourists from a Chinese cruise liner in Incheon on Monday, marking the launch of a visa-free entry scheme to revive its tourism industry and attract more visitors after years of Covid pandemic-related decline.
As part of the pilot programme due to run through until next June, groups of three or more tourists from mainland China will be able to stay without a visa for 15 days.
The scheme comes ahead of China’s National Day holidays from 1-8 October as well as a run of South Korean holidays around the same time.
The first beneficiaries of the scheme arrived on the “MS Dream” cruise from Tianjin, with 2,189 passengers and 563 crew members on board to dock at the Incheon port, 30km west of Seoul, early on Monday.
The vessel will return to China after a one-day stop, completing a five-day voyage.
Tourists waved and took photos as photographers from local and international media gathered to capture the moment. Residents also arrived to welcome the tourists while tour operators guided dozens of buses lined up to ferry the visitors into the city.
South Korean companies are seeking to benefit from the increased demand. Shilla Duty Free is conducting a Chinese cruise tour and food delivery app Baedal Minjok is introducing payment options in Alipay and WeChat Pay.
“The ship was packed maybe because the no-visa policy has just begun and the cruise line is celebrating its second anniversary,” Zhewei, 67, who travelled with seven former schoolmates told Yonhap.
“I’ve visited Korea five or six times, but this is my first time coming by cruise, so I’m excited.”
Another tourist, Xu Dawei, 38, said he decided to book the trip on the cruise after seeing an advertisement tied to the visa waiver. “This is my first time in Korea, and I hope we can make some good memories,” Mr Xu, travelling with his wife and young daughter, said.
The programme, first announced in March, follows China’s decision last November to offer visa exemptions to South Koreans for up to 30 days.
The last time South Korea offered mainland Chinese similar visa-free entry was from December 2017 to March 2018, coinciding with the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.
The new administration of president Lee Jae Myung is hoping to further improve ties with China during an expected visit by Chinese president Xi Jinping in late October to an Asia-Pacific summit in South Korea.
Additional reporting by agencies.
