From visa-free access to smart travel

China's decision to grant visa-free entry to visitors from the Republic of Korea has opened a new chapter in people-to-people exchanges between the two countries and stimulated demand for travel to China among tourists.

Visa waiver is a powerful tool for revitalizing tourism. It lowers the psychological, financial, digital and administrative barriers and makes travel easier and more spontaneous. In the short term, this drives a surge in tourist spending. Over the longer term, it can nurture deeper business ties, cultural familiarity and even trade and industrial cooperation.

That said, visa-free policies are never a simple policy lever but are closely tied to economic, political and cultural considerations. They are significant because they reflect the level of trust between countries.

Against this backdrop, the visa-free policy for ROK visitors has been a spectacular success since its introduction in November 2024. Moreover, according to the Shenzhen border inspection authorities, for the first time in five years, passenger traffic at Shenzhen Airport crossed 6 million by November 2025, marking a year-on-year increase of more than 23.4 percent. Notably, visa-free travelers made up nearly 60 percent of all inbound foreign visitors in 2025, up sharply from about 26 percent in the previous year.

A combination of geographical proximity, good air connectivity and diverse experience options makes China particularly well-suited to short-term travel from the ROK. These trips require minimal planning and lower financial and psychological costs, allowing travelers to enjoy spontaneous short breaks close to home.

Industry observers say Korean tourists see China as both a "nearby, low-burden overseas destination" and a place for quick weekend trips. While visa-free access allows spontaneous travel, the ultra-short stays highlight room for improvement.

The next challenge is turning "first-time visits" into "satisfied return visits". Instead of headline growth figures, the focus should shift from providing easy access to improving the visitor experience. That means understanding who the visitors are, what frustrates them, and what delights them — and then tailoring the tourism environment accordingly. Enhancing tourism experiences and bundling content more creatively will encourage tourists to stay longer, see more and even come back.

For travelers from the ROK, longstanding barriers to visiting China have included language barriers, payment systems and destination image. These issues are now being tackled under the umbrella of "smart tourism 2.0". Powered by artificial intelligence, this new phase uses data to personalize services, cut costs for tourism businesses, help destination management organizations allocate resources optimally and give travelers real-time, context-aware support.

The results are already visible. Automatic translation services like DeepSeek have reduced anxiety over language barriers. Payment friction has eased as Kakao Pay of the ROK links seamlessly with China's Alipay and WeChat Pay, allowing travelers to make QR-code payments without currency exchange. Social media is amplifying the effect: as positive travel experiences circulate online, perceptions of China among younger Koreans have begun to change.

Tourism has entered an era in which technology directly shapes the journey. During a trip from Seoul to Beijing and Shanghai in August 2024, I relied almost entirely on China's smart tourism ecosystem. By linking Alipay, using WeChat and DiDi, booking trains, navigating subways and shared bicycles, and paying for meals and museum visits through my smartphone, I realized that with just a little preparation, traveling independently in China was entirely feasible. What once felt distant and complicated now feels like a nearby, do-it-yourself destination.

What makes these changes particularly promising is the generational character. Young Koreans now "visit" Chinese cities on Red-Note and Douyin before they book a flight; Chinese millennials explore Seoul's coffee shops and vintage stores through Korean travel vlogs. This digital-native generation travels not as passive sightseers but as cultural participants. Their shared language is curiosity, aesthetics and lifestyle, an ideal foundation for deeper mutual understanding.

The visa waiver is only a starting point. Its true success will be determined not by number of visitors alone, but by what those visitors experience once they arrive — and whether they choose to return.

The author is a professor in the College of Hotel & Tourism Management at Kyung Hee University, South Korea.

The views don't necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

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