China has reportedly brought back a ban on group tours to South Korea. That was after having partially lifted the ban for three weeks. China’s tourism authorities had rejected recent applications for group tour visas to South Korea without providing clear explanation.
An employee of a tour agency in Beijing told that the ban on Chinese group tours to South Korea would be reinstated on Friday, with at least five companies in Beijing so far already having their visa requests rejected.
The return of a full ban on group tours to South Korea comes after South Korean President Moon Jae-in visited Beijing last week. Several analysts expected that the relationship between the two countries would improve following the visit. (READ SO: SOUTH KOREA WILL CELEBRATE A NEW CASINO OPENING IN DECEMBER)
Despite a slump in the number of mainland Chinese visitors to South Korea after the ban was initiated, Paradise Co Ltd, an operator of several foreigner-only casino properties in South Korea, still reported a 5.3 percent year-on-year growth in casino sales in the third quarter of 2017. The firm said casino sales were up due to “recovery in Chinese VIP [play] and solid growth from Japanese VIP”.
Another South Korean foreigner-only-casinos operator, Grand Korea Leisure Co Ltd, also said in its third-quarter earnings announcement that the company had recorded a 3.5 percent year-on-year increase in revenue.
