China had banned all group tours to the neighboring country since March in the wake of South Korea’s decision to install the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system. But a late October agreement between the countries to move past the dispute had boosted hopes group tours may be allowed in the near future. According to the executives at travel agencies, restrictions on including Lotte Group units, such as Lotte Duty Free, in tour packages also remain. Lotte, South Korea’s No.5 conglomerate, has faced a major setback in the wake of deteriorating bilateral relations, with most of its hypermarkets in China being shut down after fire inspections. Shares in South Korean tourism and retail companies rallied after the news of the partial lifting of the ban, first reported by Yonhap earlier in the day.

Source: bd News24 November 28, 2017 06:56 UTC