The first Seoul-Nanchang flight route opens

By Wang Xiaotong ( chinadaily.com.cn )

Updated: 2012-06-06

At about 10:30 pm on May 26, a chartered plane from Seoul, Republic of Korea arrived at the Changbei International Airport, Nanchang, marking the opening of the first tourist air route between Seoul and Nanchang.

The Korean tourists headed for several scenic spots including Longhu Mountain, Guifeng, Sanqing Mountain, Wuyuan, Jingdezhen, Poyang Lake and Lushan Mountain. "We know about the beautiful scenery at Sanqing Mountain from the internet. Some of my relatives have been here and recommended it. So here we are," said one of the tourists.

Many Korean tourists brought golf equipment with them. An official at a travel agency said that playing golf in Jiangxi is another attraction for Korean tourists, as the price is much lower than in South Korea.

Local tourist administrations and scenic spots carried out promotions and incentive schemes to celebrate the operation of the tourist charted plane. The Poyang Lake Wetland Park was free to charted plane tourists and the Guifeng scenic spot also provided preferential tickets.

The plane is the A321 and has 175 seats. With two flights each week, there will be 45 flights from the end of May to December this year. Calculated with an 80 percent attendance, it is estimated that over 6,300 tourists from South Korea will come to Jiangxi via chartered planes. A tourist revenue of 25.2 million yuan will be created, supposing that four thousand yuan on average for each person will be spent on food, accommodation, shopping and entertainment in the province. The opening of the air route may also set a good model for more international air routes.

South Korea is the biggest inbound tourist market for China, accounting for 18 percent among all the inbound tourists. In 2011, Jiangxi province received about 40 thousand tourists from South Korea, with a year-on-year growth of 10 percent. It has become the second inbound tourist market for the province.

To strengthen further cooperation and expand the overseas tourist market, Jiangxi province cooperated with the Hanaduole travel agency and ushered in the Korea-Asia Airline to open the shuttling flights between Seoul and Nanchang.

Edited by Zhao Qian and Rakhee M