The Chinese government has banned its travel agencies from selling Korea-bound package tours since mid-March in an apparent retaliation over Seoul's deployment of the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system here.

The number of Chinese tourists in South Korea more than halved in September, marking a decrease for the seventh consecutive month. Chinese visitors accounted for nearly half of the 17 million foreigners that visited the country last year.

Local tourism and retail industries have been gearing up for a potential inflow of Chinese tourists after Seoul and Beijing recently said they will put their relations back on track.

The two countries agreed to quickly normalize their ties in a joint statement issued by their foreign ministries late last month, and reaffirmed the stance during their bilateral summit held on Saturday. (Yonhap)