"It means (China) will lift bans on Korean tours region-by-region in a step-by-step manner, having not lifted them on regions outside of Beijing and Shandong," a source said.

Still, the tourism body reportedly required the tour packages not to include visits to affiliates of Lotte Group, such as its hotels and duty-free shops.

South Korea's fifth-largest conglomerate is one of the companies most affected by Beijing's economic retaliation due to its signing of a land-swap deal with the Seoul government to host the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system.

The conglomerate recently decided to withdraw its discount store business from the Chinese market, after 87 out of 99, or 87.9 percent, of its stores suspended operations in the neighboring country since early this year.

The latest decision by the Chinese authorities came after the two countries agreed on Oct. 31 to put their feud of more than a year over the deployment behind them.

South Korea has witnessed a sharp decline in the number of tourists after China prohibited its travel companies from selling Korea-bound tour programs in March. Chinese nationals accounted for nearly half of the 17 million foreigners that visited the country last year.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Noh Kyu-duk said in a press briefing that South Korea "is paying attention to the related news," and he called for the full recovery of tourism between the two countries.

"Human exchanges between South Korea and China are the basis for increasing friendship and the foundation for a sustained relationship. I expect bilateral human exchanges to recover fully and cooperative relations in other parts to also revive as soon as possible," the spokesman said. (Yonhap)