T'way, Jeju Air, Jin Air expected to benefit from China's visa waiver for Koreans

The nation's top three low-cost carriers (LCC) — T’way Air, Jeju Air and Jin Air — are expected to benefit the most from the Chinese government’s decision to allow Korean tourists’ vise-free entry into Asia’s largest economy, according to analysts and industry officials, Tuesday. Unlike major carriers such as Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, LCCs rely heavily on short-haul routes to destinations such as Japan and other Southeast Asian countries for their revenue. The no-visa entry policy is considered one of the most critical factors pulling up demand for tourism, as evidenced by a surge in the number of tourists to Japan after the country took a similar measure in October 2022. According to data from the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, Korea topped the list in the number of tourists who visited Japan in 2023. The figure came in at 6.95m, up 25.6%, compared with that in 2019. Meanwhile, data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport showed that the number of passengers from Korea to China had yet to return to prepandemic levels. The figure reached 10.3m between January and September, accounting for merely 75% from the same period in 2019.<br/>