China expands visa-free policy to include South Korea and 8 other countries.

Starting from Friday, nine additional countries allow their citizens to enter China without a visa for tourism purposes.

Citizens of eight European countries, including Slovakia, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Andorra, Monaco, and Liechtenstein, as well as South Korea, are allowed to enter the country for business or leisure purposes for a maximum of 15 days without a visa.

The visa exemption will continue until December 31, 2025.

In 2023, the number of South Koreans visiting China decreased from 4.3 million in 2019 to less than 1.3 million, according to The Korea Times.

The prices of prominent Chinese and Korean travel companies increased after Beijing declared an expanded visa-free program on Friday.

Nearly 4% rise in Jin Air shares, while Trip.com shares surpassed 5% increase.

Efforts to spur tourism

The latest round of countries to be included in China's expanding visa-free program aims to boost inbound tourism, which has not yet fully recovered from the pandemic.

In 2019, China welcomed approximately 49.1 million travelers. As of July this year, around 17.25 million foreigners had arrived, according to the state media agency Xinhua.

The visa-exemption policies have played a significant role in attracting foreigners to visit China. In the third quarter of 2024, 8.2 million foreigners arrived, representing a 49% increase from 2023. Out of these, 4.9 million utilized the program, as reported by Xinhua on Tuesday.

The Chinese government is easing headaches for international visitors by allowing major tourist attractions to accept foreign credit cards and cash, as reported by Chinese state media.

In an effort to return to pre-pandemic flight levels, Chinese officials are adding flights to Europe this winter, following the cancellation of services to China by major global carriers due to low demand and ongoing operational issues caused by Russian airspace restrictions.