(Yicai) July 3 -- Various carriers canceled 1,488 flights between China and Japan last month, with 25 routes cancelling all flights, as interest from Chinese travelers significantly decreasies due to the worsening relations between the two countries.

The majority of flights on the axed routes were bound for Osaka and Tokyo, according to civil aviation data platform DAST. The canceled flights include 325 from Shanghai to Osaka, all 90 flights from Beijing Daxing International Airport to Kansai International Airport, which serves Osaka, and all 59 flights from Shenyang to Kansai.

Behind the cancellation of flights is the decline in the number of Chinese tourists visiting Japan, with their numbers plunging over 60 percent in May from a year earlier, declining for the sixth month in a row, according to data released by the Japan National Tourism Organization.

Travel demand from Chinese travelers has shifted primarily towards Southeast Asia and South Korea. Since mid-December, South Korea has ranked ahead of Japan in the number of flights from China.

South Korea, Thailand, and Malaysia expect to welcome the most flights from China during the summer season, according to the latest statistics from Flight Manager. In addition, planned flights to South Korea and Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, and Laos have all surpassed the levels before the Covid 19 pandemic.

Bookings from first-time travelers to Thailand have surged 3.6 times over this summer season from a year earlier, according to data from travel platform Qunar. The increases for South Korea and Indonesia topped 50 percent and 30 percent, respectively, while Thailand reclaimed its position as the top destination for Chinese outbound travelers, followed by South Korea, Malaysia, and Singapore.

In addition, Chinese travelers' enthusiasm for Europe has not been dampened by the recent scorching weather. The number of such flight bookings has exceeded 620,000 for this month, up around 20 percent from a year ago, a ticket sales platform told Yicai.

More than 40,000 tickets were booked for Paris, up about 5 percent, while flight reservations for Nordic countries surged 52 percent to 27,000, the platform noted.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev