China’s Travelers Reroute From Japan: Korea, Thailand and Russia Battle for Market Share

As diplomatic tensions between China and Japan escalate, Chinese outbound tourists are rapidly diverting their winter travel plans, and South Korea is emerging as a frontrunner for redirected Chinese travel demand. However, South Korea is now facing fierce competition from destinations such as Thailand and Russia, reported The Korea Times. 

The shift began after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested that Japan might intervene militarily in the Taiwan Strait. This led Beijing to issue a travel warning on Nov. 14 which resulted in Chinese airlines cancelling many Japan-bound flights (with Japan Today reporting that as many as half a million trips were canceled), leaving travelers scrambling to find alternatives.

Growing Interest in South Korea and Beyond

Chinese travel data indicate a sharp surge in interest for South Korea since mid-November. South China Morning Post had reported that Chinese Airlines operated around 30-40 Japanese routes but following the diplomatic scuffle slashed 12 of these routes, which included Kyoto and Osaka among others. The same publication had also reported that “by November 17, Chinese airlines had received 491,000 air ticket booking cancellations for flights to Japan – about 32 per cent of total bookings…..“

As a result of the cancellations, interest in other countries grew, and South Korea was an obvious choice- given that much like Japan it is one of the nations in what is collectively known as “The Far East“, and lies quite close to China. South Korea also has free VISA policies to the travelers part of a group from China. The following data indicated how good a prospect Korea has become for Chinese travelers:

Data: Korea Times

However, individual people who want to go to Korea need a VISA, prompting Chinese people to look for other options such as Russia, Thailand, among other nations. Only a couple of days ago, Reuters reported that Russia would allow many categories of Chinese people, such as:

• Academics
• Businesspeople
• Tourists
• Artists
• Sports people

a VISA-free access to Russia.

South Korea’s VISA waiver that kicked it all off

Before September 29, 2025, even group travelers from China to South Korea had to apply for VISAs. But the Korean government to waive VISA for group travelers from Sept 29 until June 30, 2026. According to China Daily, South Korea is the 3rd most popular overseas destination for Chinese travelers (after Japan and Thailand), and reported the following numbers:

• Search surge: Internet searches for Seoul travel products jumped 70% within 30 minutes of the announcement of exemption of VISAs.

• Passenger trips in 2024: Chinese travelers made 4.6 million trips to South Korea, accounting for 28.1% of all inbound tourists.

• Group tours by Spring Tour: Operating daily group tours from Shanghai to South Korea from August to end of October.

• GDP impact (Bank of Korea): Every 1 million additional Chinese group tourists increases GDP by 0.08 percentage points.

Korean Carriers have Capitalized on the Rising Visitors from China

According to the data of the Japan National Tourism Organization that was quoted in Korea JonngAng Daily, 2024 saw 6.06 million Chinese tourists in Japan and their spending totaled 1.7 trillion yen ($10.9 billion), accounting for almost a fifth of all foreign tourist spending. The same publication also reported of the following rebounding of sales at major discount chains and fashion retailers:

• • At key Seoul Daiso branches, payments via Alipay, WeChat Pay and UnionPay rose 130–250% year-on-year in October.

  • From early November to Nov. 20, the Myeong-dong store saw a 200% jump and the Gangnam flagship 230%.

  • At Musinsa’s Myeong-dong and Seongsu stores, Chinese tourist spending increased 126% and 89% between Nov. 1–19 year-on-year.

Two airlines from South Korea have already upped their services to and from Japan, as evidenced in the following table:

Korean Air introduced the Incheon (ICN)–Fuzhou (FOC) route around the end of 2024, as Fuzhou was a growing travel destination. 

Photo: Md Shaifuzzaman Ayon | Wikimedia Commons

Emergence of Other Destinations: Particularly Russia and Thailand

Russia is also emerging as an alternative, particularly because of expanded visa-free access and strong connectivity with northeastern China. Vladivostok, in particular, has benefited from the shift.

In a statement issued by Vladivostok Airport to South China Morning Post, the airport said that the place where the airport is located “is interesting by itself as a city with European ambience, Christian culture, military history and with China-friendly infrastructure.” 

The information in the following table gives us a cue of travelers’ interest in Russia:

Thailand is Rising but Problems Remain

Thailand’s position is more complicated. Although Qunar data shows Thailand ranking as the most popular destination for Chinese outbound travelers during the January 15–February 10, 2026 winter vacation period, the country continues to struggle with concerns over visitor safety and declining Chinese arrivals.

This worry from Thailand comes in light of the kidnapping of Chinese actor Wang Xing after arriving in Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport. Hundreds of Chinese workers were freed from scam centers in Thailand. The following numbers posted by ThaiTimes might give us a better story:

• Flight cancellations to Thailand spiked by 94% last month.

• Thailand logged only 711,000 Chinese visitors by early February.

• Thailand may top out at just 7.5 million Chinese tourists in 2025 if safety fears persist.

• Demand remains choppy, with March flight bookings still 10% below the previous week’s levels.

• Flight demand for April and May is projected to climb by over 3%.