Booking data released on 11 December show South Korea has overtaken Japan as the top overseas destination on several major Chinese travel apps after Beijing’s mid-November Japan travel advisory. Searches for Jeju and Seoul are up 30 % week-on-week, while interest in Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam has also surged.
Airlines are adjusting: Asiana says it will operate 165 weekly China flights by March, a 20 % increase, and Thai AirAsia is adding charter capacity for Chinese New Year crowds. Malaysia hopes to capture an extra 30,000 Chinese visitors this month, buoyed by its recently introduced visa waiver.
At this juncture, VisaHQ can be a valuable ally for both leisure and corporate travelers; its China portal (https://www.visahq.com/china/) provides up-to-the-minute visa guidance and application facilitation for destinations like South Korea, Thailand and Malaysia, helping travelers navigate sudden policy tweaks without derailing itineraries.
![Chinese Travellers Redirect Holiday Plans to South Korea and Southeast Asia]()
For destination governments the shift is an opportunity; South Korea is reviewing e-visa pilots for Chinese group tours, while Singapore Tourism Board is ramping up Mandarin marketing. Russia and Türkiye, meanwhile, have emerged as niche winter-sports alternatives.
Corporate mobility teams should note that meeting in Seoul or Bangkok may now be easier than Tokyo over the next quarter. Travellers must still monitor evolving visa requirements – South Korea’s K-ETA, for example, remains suspended for Chinese nationals till March 2026, but group-tour visas are being fast-tracked.
Longer-term, researchers at the China Outbound Tourism Research Institute believe the redirection could reshape regional flows if Japan-bound sentiment fails to recover before the summer Olympics cycle begins.
Airlines are adjusting: Asiana says it will operate 165 weekly China flights by March, a 20 % increase, and Thai AirAsia is adding charter capacity for Chinese New Year crowds. Malaysia hopes to capture an extra 30,000 Chinese visitors this month, buoyed by its recently introduced visa waiver.
At this juncture, VisaHQ can be a valuable ally for both leisure and corporate travelers; its China portal (https://www.visahq.com/china/) provides up-to-the-minute visa guidance and application facilitation for destinations like South Korea, Thailand and Malaysia, helping travelers navigate sudden policy tweaks without derailing itineraries.
For destination governments the shift is an opportunity; South Korea is reviewing e-visa pilots for Chinese group tours, while Singapore Tourism Board is ramping up Mandarin marketing. Russia and Türkiye, meanwhile, have emerged as niche winter-sports alternatives.
Corporate mobility teams should note that meeting in Seoul or Bangkok may now be easier than Tokyo over the next quarter. Travellers must still monitor evolving visa requirements – South Korea’s K-ETA, for example, remains suspended for Chinese nationals till March 2026, but group-tour visas are being fast-tracked.
Longer-term, researchers at the China Outbound Tourism Research Institute believe the redirection could reshape regional flows if Japan-bound sentiment fails to recover before the summer Olympics cycle begins.
