- Shares of Asian travel agencies, hotels and airlines rose Thursday after China announced it would allow group tours to 12 more locations across Asia.
- Travel agency Lotte Tour Development saw its shares rise more than 25%, while those of luxury hotel operator Hotel Shilla rose 14%.
- It will be the first time in six years that China has allowed group tours to South Korea, after it banned such tours in 2017 in response to the deployment of South Korea’s High Altitude Area Defense System.
An aerial view of Seoul in the morning in fall 2016.
Nathapol Busay | moment | Getty Images
China has lifted a ban on group trips to more than 70 locations, giving airline and travel stocks a boost in Asia.
Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism Thursday said group tours will resume to more than a dozen 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 Eastern countries such as Qatar, Oman, Lebanon and Israel, were on the list.
South Korean airline and travel stocks witnessed the strongest reaction, with travel agency, airline and hotel stocks rising.
Travel agency Lotte Tour Development saw its shares rise more than 25%, while those of luxury hotel operator Hotel Shilla rose 17%.
South Korean Airlines also saw gains, with Asiana Airlines up 7% and Korea Airlines up 3.1%.
This is despite the fact that it is Typhoon Khanun made landfall in South Korea on Thursday, leading to the cancellation of more than 330 flights and the transfer of 10,000 people to safe places, according to Reuters.
It will be the first time in six years that China has allowed group tours to South Korea, after it banned such tours in 2017 in response to the deployment of South Korea’s High Altitude Area Defense System.
Japanese tourism stocks also saw gains, with Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways rising 1.92% and 1.25%, respectively.
Shares of Japanese travel agency HIS rose 3.4%, while shares of its peer Airtrip rose 2.9%.
In Australia, travel stocks changed little, with national carrier Qantas just above the flat line.
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