Repeat short-haul visits by Chinese travellers to South Korea are expected to rise after Seoul eased multiple-entry visa rules, but analysts say the immediate impact may be limited because of growing competition from Southeast Asia and higher airfares linked to the US-Israeli war in Iran. The South Korean embassy in Beijing announced that Chinese nationals who had previously visited South Korea would now be eligible for a five-year multiple-entry visa.

China flight bookings rose 20% year on year ahead of the April Qingming Festival holiday, showing resilient travel demand despite rising airfares and fuel surcharges. With 2.04 million tickets booked and Southeast Asia leading outbound interest, the data points to continued momentum in both domestic and short-haul cross-border travel.

China’s consumer rebound is real, but selective. CTD breaks down why services, emotional spending, social-first discovery, and value clarity are shaping the 2026 market.

In what has been a landmark Lunar New Year holiday, Japan saw a historic plunge in Chinese tourist arrivals, as escalating political tensions between Beijing and Tokyo have had a direct impact on travel patterns. Meanwhile, Thailand, South Korea, Malaysia, and Singapore emerged as the dominant destinations for Chinese travellers, highlighting a notable shift in preferences during this period.

South-east Asia has been a popular destination for some time, but Chinese travellers are now flocking to the region in greater numbers. This follows a diplomatic spat last November that prompted them to abandon Japan – previously among their top destinations.

China Trading Desk’s (CTD) Q1 2026 China Outbound Travel Survey has revealed that travel retail continues to offer strong commercial potential, highlighting the need for operators to shift their focus from stimulating demand to capturing spend from travellers already on the move.

China Trading Desk (CTD) has released findings from its Q1 2026 China Outbound Travel Survey, showing that China outbound travel has settled into a more routine market, but travel retail remains a live commercial opportunity.

New research from China Trading Desk highlights a stable level of airport retail intent among Chinese outbound travellers, even as conversion challenges persist around price, product availability and time constraints.

Chinese New Year 2026 delivered the headline the industry wanted: Chinese travel is back, traffic is up, and confidence is returning. But an increase in Chinese travellers actually flatters to deceive. Recovery in movement is not the same as recovery in monetization. The real post-CNY story is not whether Chinese travellers moved – it’s whether brands, retailers and destinations were still relevant enough to capture the wallets moving through them.