CHENGDU, June 12 -- Air Busan will launch direct flights between Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, and Busan, Republic of Korea (ROK), on June 25.

An Airbus A320 will ply the route every five days. It is the first direct flight between the two cities and the third international air route linking Chengdu and the ROK. Currently, passengers from Chengdu have to transfer in Seoul, Beijing or Shanghai to reach Busan, a journey that takes at least eight hours.

Busan is the second biggest city in ROK.

In recent years, tourists trips between Sichuan and ROK have increased. According to official statistics, 125,000 Sichuan tourists visited ROK in 2015, up 45.3 percent year on year. Last year, 163,000 ROK tourists visited Sichuan, a year-on-year increase of 13.2 percent.