Shanghai's night view [HANA TOUR]
Rising travel costs, driven by high oil prices and a weak won, are boosting Korea's demand for travel to nearby China, which emerged as a relatively more affordable option due to shorter flights and lower expenses.
The number of passengers on Korea-China routes for the first quarter of this year increased by
25.1 percent from last year to 4.4 million, according to data from the travel industry and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport released on Thursday. The figure has surpassed prepandemic levels in 2019.
The number of flights operated over the same period rose 7.7 percent to 29,078. The number of outbound travelers heading to China in March jumped 33.9 percent.
The Transport Ministry allocated 23 of the 35 international air traffic rights distributed for 2026 to routes connecting Korea and China last month. The expansion covered not only major destinations such as Beijing and Shanghai, but also numerous routes to smaller Chinese cities, including Hangzhou and Chengdu.
Shanghai was the most popular destination.
Demand for flights to China increased 26 percent from a year earlier. Demand for Shanghai routes surged about 77 percent, according to travel platform NOL Universe. Shanghai alone accounted for nearly half of all travel demand to China.
Shanghai [LEE JI-AN]
Airlines are responding by deploying larger aircraft on major China routes during the summer peak season.
China Southern Airlines plans to operate Boeing 777-300ER aircraft with 360 seats on the Incheon-Shanghai Pudong route and Airbus A330-300 aircraft with 282 seats on the Incheon-Beijing Daxing route.
Travel agencies are also seeing a sharp increase in bookings.
Travel agency Modetour reported that the number of travelers booking China trips in April increased by about 31 percent on year, while demand for reservations during the summer peak season is expected to rise by more than 100 percent.
China-related travel traffic on Klook, a travel booking platform, also climbed 33.5 percent over the past month. Shanghai, Beijing and Chongqing ranked as the platform’s most popular destinations.
A Korean Air airplane [JOONGANG ILBO]
Travel preferences also varied by age group.
Middle-aged travelers tended to favor scenic destinations such as Mount Paektu and Zhangjiajie. Travelers aged 20 to 40 showed stronger interest in urban destinations, such as Shanghai, Chongqing and Chengdu.
Industry officials attributed the growing demand to the visa-free policy, short flight times and relatively low travel costs.
“The visa-free entry policy, which has been extended through the end of 2026, has reduced both the administrative process and financial burden associated with obtaining [tourist] visas,” a travel industry source said. “As a result, China is increasingly being viewed as a destination people can visit easily and on short notice.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
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