Chinese tourists expected to flock to Japan, South Korea for cherry blossoms in Qingming holidays: platform

An influx of Chinese tourists is expected in Japan and South Korea during the upcoming public holidays, drawn by the cherry blossoms there, an industry platform reported Thursday.

The cities of Fukuoka, Nagoya, Kobe, and Naha in Japan, Busan and Incheon in South Korea will see a large number of Chinese tourists during the coming Qingming Festival, or Tomb-Sweeping Day, which falls on April 4, according to online travel service provider qunar.com.

April marks peak cherry blossom season in Japan and South Korea, making it an ideal time for travel, qunar.com noted.

The platform attributed the travel peak to the lower airfare, about 50 percent cheaper than those sold during the Spring Festival holidays.

On the qunar platform, the air tickets from Beijing to Hanoi, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, and Jeju Island on April 4 are all less than 1,000 yuan ($138), and the prices for popular destinations of Seoul and Osaka are less than1,400 yuan per ticket.

A flight from Shanghai to Bangkok now costs less than 500 yuan, while flights to Cheongju, Jeju Island, and Daegu in South Korea, Fukuoka, Osaka, Nagoya, and Takamatsu in Japan, cost less than 1,000 yuan.

Searches for accommodations in Japan by Chinese travelers have surged to 2.5 times that of the same period last year, said Airbnb in a report released earlier. Traditional popular destinations Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto are the top three most searched cities for the three-day Qingming Festival holidays.

The growing demand among Chinese travelers to experience unique and authentic cherry blossoms is expanding the "Cherry Blossom Chasing Map". This spring, destinations in Japan such as Sapporo, Fukuoka and Nagoya have also emerged, the Airbnb said.

The Japan National Tourism Organization said that the number of foreign tourists in February increased to 3.26 million, marking a 17 percent year-on-year increase, setting a new record for the month. Among them, 722,700 visitors were from China, marking a 57 percent surge from a year earlier.