International travel to Jeju is set to stretch its wings once more after a hiatus of two years.

Jeju Special Self-governing Province announced that the Ministry of Justice is scheduled to release a public announcement on the 19th regarding the withdrawal of the temporary suspension of visa-free travel to Jeju, which is set to take effect from June 1.

The number of foreign tourists to Jeju had been continuously increasing since the authorization of visa-free entry in 2002, reaching its peak in 2016 at 3.6 million visitors and remaining above a million per year despite the decline in Chinese tourists following the THAAD dispute.

However, the temporary suspension of the entry visa exemption due to the impact of COVID-19 (February 4, 2020) and the entry restriction measure following the centralization of quarantine measures at Incheon International Airport (April 6, 2020) caused the number of foreign tourists in 2021 to plummet to around 48,000.

In response, the Jeju government continuously visited related government agencies to establish a meticulous quarantine plan and ensure the rapid resumption of normal life, repeatedly presenting the difficulties faced by tourism companies in addition to a plan for the vitalization of international tourism. Ultimately, through a meeting of the Central Disease Control Headquarters on May 4 and the subsequent public announcement by the Ministry of Justice, it was finally able to achieve the long-awaited wish of the tourism industry both within and outside of Jeju.

From June 2, Jeju International Airport will resume the embarkation of international flights. First, Jeju Air will resume the operation of 189-seat chartered flights between Jeju and Bangkok for two occasions, on June 2 and June 6. This will be followed by the Singaporean airline Scoot, which will operate 236-seat direct flights between Jeju International Airport and Changi International Airport on a regular basis, three times each week (Monday, Friday, Sunday).

In particular, the latter is expected to contribute greatly to the revitalization of international tourism as it opened the door to the influx of foreign tourists and allowed regular visitors from Southeast Asian countries such as Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia as well as Australia and Europe, considering Changi International Airport’s status as Asia’s foremost flight transfer hub.

Amidst the growing social atmosphere for the return to normal life, these measures are expected to contribute to enhancing air travel access for Jeju residents by alleviating the time and economic difficulties of having to fly via Incheon International Airport when traveling abroad. In line with this trend, Jeju has rapidly begun preparing to return to accommodating a peak-level influx of tourists.

Jeju also plans to create a tourism boom through on-site tourism presentations, online and offline joint marketing campaigns and welcoming events for first flights, thereby maximizing the enthusiasm for overseas tourism.

In addition, it aims to implement various efforts to vitalize international tourism by providing incentives for chartered flights to fly from Jeju, joint marketing for direct flights, close-contact support through the 11 Jeju tourism promotion offices located abroad, FAM tours for tourism-related stakeholders from various countries, and business consultation meetings among related businesses in order to restore the network among tourism companies.