China lifts ban on group travel to more than 70 locations, gives boost to travel stocks

Thursday, August 10, 2023

China lifted a ban on group tours to more than 70 locations, giving travel and airline stocks in Asia a boost.

China’s culture and tourism ministry said Thursday that group tours will resume to over dozens of locations in Asia-Pacific, Europe, Africa and North America.

Top travel destinations in Asia-Pacific included Japan, South Korea and Australia.

The United Kingdom, Germany, Finland and Sweden as well as Middle East nations like Qatar, Oman, Lebanon and Israel were on the list.

South Korean airline and travel stocks saw the strongest reaction, with tour agency, airline and hotel stocks all surging.

Travel agency Lotte Tour Development saw its shares spike more than 25%, while shares of luxury hotel operator Hotel Shilla surged 17%.

South Korean airlines also saw gains, with Asiana Airlines climbing 7% and Korea Airlines advancing 3.1%.

That’s despite the fact that Typhoon Khanun made landfall in South Korea on Thursday, resulting in more than 330 flights being cancelled and 10,000 people being moved to safety, according to a news agency.

It will be the first time in six years that China is allowing group tours to South Korea, having banned such tours in 2017 in response to the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system in South Korea.

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