Following THAAD, Jeju Special Self-Governing Province has begun to seek a solution to normalize Jeju-China tourism in line with easing quarantine measures and China’s resumption of group travel abroad amid the fact that “tourism exchange” between Jeju and China has virtually been cut off in the aftermath of COVID-19.
Jeju Governor Oh Young-hoon met with Chinese Ambassador to Korea Xing Haiming at the Chinese Embassy in Seoul on the 8th and asked for the Chinese government’s active cooperation to promote attracting Chinese tourists to Jeju.
Jeju Governor Oh Young-hoon met with Chinese Ambassador to Korea Xing Haiming at the Chinese Embassy in Seoul on the 8th and asked for the Chinese government’s active cooperation to promote attracting Chinese tourists to Jeju.
Governor Oh said, “Jeju Island will prepare with expectations to welcome Chinese tourists as soon as possible,” adding, “I ask the Chinese government to actively cooperate so that tourists between Jeju and China can freely exchange.”
Ambassador Xing Haiming replied, “As COVID-19 has shifted to a decreasing trend in China, we will actively make efforts to adjust the entry policy between Korea and China.”
“China is returning to normal in all areas, including the economy and society,” he said. “We will try to ensure that human and economic exchanges are actively carried out and that both countries and people can move toward a ‘win-win’ relationship.”
Earlier in the day, Governor Oh attended an integrated defense meeting presided over by President Yoon Suk Yeol and suggested that quarantine measures be taken into account the characteristics of Jeju, which implements a visa-free entry system along with the unification of aircraft from China to Incheon Airport.
Governor Oh also stressed at a hotel in the province on the 6th, “The quarantine authorities should allow Chinese tourists only to enter Jeju, a visa-free area,” adding, “As the COVID-19 test confirms that the number of confirmed cases from China is zero, the quarantine authorities should positively enhance Chinese tourists to come to Jeju alone.”
In this regard, Ji Young-mi, head of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said at her first press conference since taking office on the same day, “It is difficult to specify Jeju Island (because I have now collected entry from China to Incheon).”
However, Jeju Island said it is considering lifting the restriction on short-term visas for Chinese people, which has been in effect since early last month, earlier than the previously planned end of February, plans to establish and implement quarantine measures in preparation for the early lifting of the restriction.
It also plans to seek continuous cooperation and countermeasures with the Korean government and the Chinese government to resume direct flights between Jeju and China.
Meanwhile, the Korean government strengthened quarantine measures such as short-term visa issuance restrictions, flight increase restrictions, and gene amplification tests within one day of entry, and unified it into Incheon International Airport by eliminating direct flights from local airports.
Accordingly, the Chinese government stopped issuing short-term visas to Koreans from the 10th of last month, and from the 1st of this month, only Koreans who entered China have been tested for COVID-19.
In addition, the Chinese government allowed only 20 countries to travel abroad as a group, which was suspended due to the spread of COVID-19, in January 2020, but excluded Korea from the countries subject to permission. 제주도 여행
The number of Chinese tourists in Jeju, which once peaked at more than 3 million a year, was only 8554 from January to November last year.