Chinese airlines cancelled all flights on 49 routes to Japan as relations between the Asian powers worsened.
China was angered by Japan’s prime minister suggesting last year that Tokyo could get involved in any conflict over Taiwan, which Beijing claims as a renegade province.
Since then, China has urged citizens to refrain from visiting Japan, and on Monday its foreign ministry warned of “serious safety threats” for Chinese tourists.
Travelers from China are not staying home, though: Flight data shows that South Korea is on track to overtake Japan as the top destination for Chinese tourists during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, while Vietnam is also seeing an upswing in visitor numbers.