Will South Korea gain a ”reflective benefit” from China's move to cancel travel to Japan?

The number of Chinese people visiting South Korea has increased as the Chinese government lifted the ban on group travel by Chinese people to 78 countries and regions around the world, including South Korea, from the 10th of last month, which had been restricted due to the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
is said to be on the rise. Japan is among the target countries for which the Chinese government has lifted bans, and Chinese tourists are visiting Japan one after another like they were before the coronavirus pandemic.
Anti-Japanese sentiment is growing in China, and there are concerns about the impact on the tourism industry in the future. In this situation, JoongAng Ilbo, a South Korean newspaper, said, ``Expectations are growing that South Korea will receive a return benefit.''
The Chinese government has restricted domestic travel companies from handling overseas group tours since January 2020, when the COVID-19 infection first spread. However, in February this year, some countries
Following the lifting of the ban, on the 10th of last month, the list of countries eligible for the lifting was expanded to include South Korea, Japan, India, the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Germany. It was only during the coronavirus pandemic that group travel from China to South Korea was completely liberalized.
This is the first time in about six years and five months that the ban has been lifted since March 2017. China objected to the deployment of THAAD (High Altitude Area Defense Missile) to South Korea by the US Forces in South Korea, and in March 2017 China ordered a military mission to South Korea.
Prohibited the sale of body travel products. Subsequently, in 2018, group tours to South Korea were permitted to depart to six regions in China, including Shanghai and Beijing, and in November of the same year, group travel businesses through online travel agencies were approved.
Merchandise is approved for sale. Group travel has become partially possible nationwide since late 2019, but following the outbreak of COVID-19 in January 2020, the Chinese government has suspended group travel of its citizens to all parts of the world, including South Korea.
Prohibited body travel. Myeong-dong, a representative tourist spot in Seoul, South Korea, shifted its target to Chinese tourists after the Korean boom in Japan ended around 2004.
I tried to attract customers. Groups of over 100 people used to visit, but as mentioned above, such a scene has not been seen for a long time. Finally, Chinese people can travel to Korea, from individual trips to group trips.
With the complete liberalization of tourism, South Korea's tourism industry is booming. According to JoongAng Ilbo, on the 23rd of last month, a group of about 150 Chinese tourists visited Lotte Duty Free Store in Myeongdong and enjoyed shopping.
It says. A Lotte Duty Free Shop official told the newspaper, ``Sales from Chinese tourists for one week increased by about 16% compared to the previous week.''
Additionally, according to the paper, the tourism organization of Jeju in the south, which is famous as a resort area,
It is expected that 15,000 to 20,000 people will visit during the four months leading up to the end of the year. A representative from the National Tourism Organization told the paper, ``Chinese tourists visit Jeju during the National Day holidays (September 29th to October 6th).
``We will be going to the International Tourism Industry Expo in Guangdong Province, China from September 15th to 17th to promote the event.''
According to a report published by South Korea's central bank, the Bank of Korea, in February this year,
It is estimated that if the number of domestic tourists increases by 1 million, South Korea's GDP (gross domestic product) will increase by 0.08%. If the number of Chinese tourists visiting South Korea this year is 3 million, half of the number in 2019 before the coronavirus pandemic.
Even if it remains unchanged, the GDP will still be over 0.2%, and the JoongAng Ilbo explained, ``This is not a small level compared to the Bank of Korea's 1.4% growth forecast for the Korean economy this year.''
Meanwhile, several major media outlets in China reported on the 29th of last month that group tours to Japan were being canceled one after another following the release of treated water from the TEPCO Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the ocean.
I did. In response to this report, Japanese media said, ``The Japanese business community welcomed the Chinese government's lifting of the ban on group tours to Japan on the 10th (last month), but the recovery in inbound tourism may disappoint.
``The lifting of the ban on group travel could dampen hopes for an increase in tourism demand in Japan'' (Nihon Keizai Shimbun). Tetsuo Saito, Minister of Land and Infrastructure, is also 29.
At a press conference on Sunday, he revealed that some trips to Japan from China have been cancelled, and expressed his intention to closely monitor future trends.
JoongAng Ilbo reported that in 2012, when anti-Japanese sentiment increased in China due to territorial disputes between Japan and China, South Korea
It is pointed out that the number of Chinese tourists visiting has increased. As a reminder of those days, anti-Japanese sentiment is currently rapidly increasing in China, and the newspaper reports that there is a possibility that Chinese tourists will shift from Japan to South Korea.
I told you my view.