(Yicai) Nov. 20 -- Chinese carriers have reimbursed more than 500,000 tickets for flights to Japan within three days since announcing free refund and rescheduling options after China advised its citizens to avoid traveling there amid increasing political tensions between the two nations, according to an industry insider.

The number of bookings for flights run by Chinese mainland carriers to Japan had dropped by 543,000 on Nov. 18 compared with Nov. 15, meaning that more than half a million tickets were canceled from Nov. 15 to 17, aviation expert Li Hanming told Yicai.

More than a dozen Chinese airlines, including the three biggest state-owned airlines -- China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, and Air China -- and some private ones, have offered refund and rescheduling options free of charge to passengers who have booked flights to Japan between Nov. 15 and Dec. 31.

"Cancellations for flights to Tokyo were relatively less, with the bulk concentrated on Osaka and other second-tier Japanese cities," Li noted. "This indicates that the majority of those canceling their trips were leisure tourists."

Spring Japan, in which Chinese carrier Spring Airlines holds a 33 percent stake and Japan Airlines the rest, became the first Japanese airline to accept free refunds and rescheduling on China-Japan routes on Nov. 18.

On Nov. 14, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and China's embassies and consulates in Japan solemnly reminded Chinese citizens to avoid traveling to Japan in the near future and told those already there to pay close attention to the local security situation, enhance their safety awareness, and strengthen self-protection. 

The number of travelers from China to Japan dropped 11 percent on Nov. 18 from a week earlier, while the average passenger load factor fell by 12 percentage points, according to data from flight tracking platform Flight Manager.

Some domestic airlines have begun to temporarily cancel flights to Japan and reallocate capacity to countries and cities with relatively higher demand.

Among tourists canceling their plans to go to Japan, some have switched to Southeast Asia, some to domestic destinations, and some will stay home, an official from an airline's marketing department said to Yicai. For those who will still travel, warmer regions will be the popular choice, the person pointed out.

Tourists' demand for warm destinations within China during the winter was released earlier this year, with bookings for domestic flights to Hainan, Yunnan, and Guangdong provinces and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region between Nov. 19 and Dec. 31 surging 13 percent to 4.72 million as of Nov. 18 from a year earlier, according to data from flight tracking application Umetrip.

Travel outside the Chinese mainland is also concentrated on warmer climates, with Bangkok, Singapore, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Taipei, and Macau among the most sought-after destinations.

Editor: Martin Kadiev