China has reportedly decided to allow its citizens to go on overseas group tours for the first time since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic three years ago.

China's culture and tourism ministry on Thursday announced the permission for group tours to 78 countries, including South Korea, the U.S. and Japan., saying a trial resumption has had a positive impact on tourism exchanges and cooperation with other countries.

Earlier this year, Beijing allowed group visits to 60 countries, such as Thailand, Vietnam, France and Spain, in line with withdrawal of its "zero-COVID" policy, but South Korea, the U.S. and Japan were not included.

Group tours to South Korea were effectively halted in March 2017 in apparent retaliation against the deployment of the U.S. THAAD anti-missile system on the Korean Peninsula.

South Korea's culture ministry, for its part, plans to host a major tourism road show in China next month to promote the country's tourism industry in the wake of Beijing's resumption of group tours.

The event is set to be held from September 13 to 17 in Beijing and Shanghai, ahead of China's major mid-autumn festival holiday starting on September 29.