China Southern returns to Jeju after 10 years; nonstop Guangzhou service to rise to seven flights a week

【Financial News, Jeju — Jeong Yong-bok】 Nonstop flights linking Jeju with Guangzhou, a major economic city in southern China, will increase to seven a week starting in December. As China Southern Airlines resumes service to Jeju after 10 years and air links with provincial cities in northern and eastern China are expanded, the foundations for attracting Chinese tourists to Jeju during the winter season are growing.
According to Jeju Special Self-Governing Province on the 30th, China Southern Airlines plans to operate the Jeju–Guangzhou route three times a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, starting Dec. 17. The airline is returning to the route for the first time in 10 years.
Spring Airlines, which already operates the Guangzhou route, also increased its service from twice a week in the summer season to four times a week in the winter season, effective the 27th. If China Southern Airlines begins service as scheduled, the two airlines will together offer seven scheduled nonstop flights a week between Jeju and Guangzhou.
Air links with other parts of China have also expanded. Spring Airlines has operated the Jeju–Shijiazhuang route twice a week, on Wednesdays and Sundays, since the 25th. Since the 26th, it has also deployed flights on the Jeju–Yangzhou and Jeju–Taizhou routes four times a week, on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
Qingdao Airlines has operated the Jeju–Qingdao route twice a week, on Tuesdays and Saturdays, since the 27th. In all, service has resumed or increased on four routes serving Shijiazhuang in northern China; Yangzhou and Qingdao in the east; and Guangzhou in the south.
The expansion is significant because it diversifies the areas in China from which Jeju attracts tourists. More flights are becoming available not only from major Chinese cities but also from provincial cities, allowing travelers to reach Jeju without connecting through another airport. It also broadens the travel options for passengers departing Jeju for China.

The expansion is also part of a nationwide trend toward more international flights. According to the 2026 winter schedule for regular flights finalized by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, 5,353 international flights a week are planned across 264 routes in 44 countries, from Oct. 25 this year through March 27 next year.
China is a key market for international tourism to Jeju. According to the Jeju Tourism Organization’s Tourism Big Data Platform, 194,369 Chinese tourists visited Jeju in August this year, up 5.0% from the same month last year. The figure combines Chinese visitors who arrived on Jeju by air, cruise ship and other means.
Jeju Province is conducting promotional activities targeting local Chinese travel companies and online travel agencies to turn the increase in flights into actual tourism demand.
The Jeju Province Guangzhou Promotion Office took part with the Korea Tourism Organization’s Guangzhou office in China Southern Airlines’ winter-spring international routes briefing, held on the 28th in Qingyuan, Guangdong Province, China. At the event hosted by China Southern Airlines, it ran a Jeju promotional booth and held business-to-business (B2B) consultations with local travel companies.
Jeju Province is also pursuing joint promotions with Trip.com, an online travel platform in China. It plans to categorize regions across China as new, enhanced or general markets according to demand for Jeju tourism and market characteristics, and tailor its promotional strategy to each region.
Jeju Province plans to create a dedicated promotional page for Jeju tourism on Trip.com, featuring major winter attractions and prominently promoting direct flights from China to Jeju, attraction admission tickets and experience packages.
Hwang Gyeong-seon, director of Jeju Province’s Tourism Exchange Bureau, said, “We will strengthen tailored promotions using local online platforms and cooperation with airlines and the travel industry,” adding, “We will get through the winter low season and sustain the recovery in the Chinese market.”


[email protected] Jeong Yong-bok Reporter