Both Japan and South Korea announced that they will modify their respective visa policies for the growing number of Chinese tourists.

On 25th December in Beijing, Japanese foreign minister Yoshimasa Hayashi announced that visa conditions to his country will be relaxed for Chinese nationals. 

Modifications will include the introduction of a ten-year / multiple entry tourist visa, as well as an extension for up to 30 days for those travelling on a group tourist visa.

These changes will be implemented by spring of this year.

Korea to test a new visa-free policy

South Korea, on the other hand, is slated to try out a visa-free policy specifically for Chinese tourists within this year, particularly because these have contributed significantly to the country’s travel and tourism sectors.

The announcement was made by the country’s Prime Minister, Han Duck-soo, on Thursday, 26th December.

Based on South Korea’s recently released tourism revitalisation plan, the national government aims to attract up to 18.5 million foreign arrivals in 2025.

Based on this target, the South Korean government hopes to generate up to US$22.8 billion in tourism sales, as well as US$30.4 billion in domestic travel consumption.

In which case, 70 percent of the country’s tourism budget has been allocated for initiatives within the first half of 2025 in order to stabilise the inbound tourism sector.