South Korea will increase the number of flights between the country and China to 80 a week by the end of this month, and further to 100 a week from March, said South Korea Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Friday.
He made the remarks at a Friday meeting about the South Korean authorities’ policies regarding the Covid-19 pandemic.
South Korean authorities have resumed the issuing of short-term visas for travellers from China from February 11, a decision made as the wave of Covid-19 infections in China subsided.
Earlier this week, China said it would resume issuing short-term visas for South Korean nationals on Saturday (February 18).
At Friday’s briefing, Prime Minister Han said the number of flights between South Korea and China currently stood at 62 a week.
The South Korean authorities will decide next week whether or not to lift the requirement for travellers from China to undergo a pre-departure and post-arrival Covid-19 test, Mr Han said.
The number of Chinese tourists that arrived in South Korea in January reached 30,648, more than triple the number in the same month a year earlier, Reuters reported citing a monthly economic report from South Korea’s finance ministry.
