South Korea Takes Steps to Woo More Chinese Tourists
Skift Take
- China hotel RevPAR increased by 30.7% YoY but was down by -6.8% compared to 2019.
- South Korea aims to attract 1.5 million Chinese tourists, lifting group visit bans with incentives.
- H World Group refines strategy for post-pandemic tourism in China, focusing on quality growth and lower-tier cities.
STR said China Hotel RevPAR the week ended 9/2 was up 30.7% year over year. The previous week’s RevPAR was up against a +19.3% year-over-year comp. Versus the same week in 2019, China hotel RevPAR was down -6.8%.
South Korea aims to attract 1.5 million Chinese tourists by the end of the year. Pre-pandemic, nearly five million Chinese visitors came to South Korea yearly. Chinese authorities recently lifted the ban on group visits to South Korea. In response, South Korea is rolling out incentives, including opening near visa application centers, expanding air routes, and offering financial incentives like VAT or visa fee refunds for group bookings. Tourism programs specifically designed to cater to Chinese preferences are under development, as is the integration of payment platforms such as WeChat Pay and Alipay.
H World Group said they are refining their strategy to capture the post-pandemic tourism spending boom in China with plans to cover more m
