(Yicai) Dec. 23 -- With the number of travelers between China and Japan continuing to decrease after relations between the two countries cooled last month, nearly half of the flights between the two countries are expected to suspend operations in January.

All flights on 46 routes between China and Japan will be axed over the next two weeks, likely resulting in 2,195 flights being canceled next month, about 40 percent of the total, according to data from flight tracking platform Flight Manager.

The large-scale cancellation of flights between China and Japan is related to the significant drop in passenger numbers since Nov. 15, with more than 1,900 flights canceled this month as of Dec. 22, data from flight tracker app Umetrip showed.

On Nov. 14, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its missions in Japan urged Chinese citizens to avoid traveling to the country for now and advised those already there to pay close attention to the local security situation, stay alert, and take extra safety precautions.

However, ticket prices on China-Japan routes are gradually rising. For example, the lowest fare, excluding tax, on the Shanghai-Osaka Kansai route has jumped to CNY500 from CNY100 (USD71.01 from USD14.20) over the past month.

Following the significant drop in flights to Japan, Chinese airlines are redirecting their capacity to other areas, such as Southeast Asia, where the weather is relatively warmer, several carriers told Yicai.

Comparing the past week to the week when the Chinese government issued the cautious travel advisory for Japan, the most significant increase in the number of flights from China was to Thailand, followed by Australia and Malaysia, Flight Manager data showed. Regarding growth rates, the biggest was to Australia, with significant increases to New Zealand and Singapore.

In addition, Thailand returned as the top destination for outbound Chinese travelers, according to data from platform site Qunar. Bookings for flights to the Southeast Asian country surged 21 percent from mid-January to just before the Chinese New Year in February compared with a year earlier.

The most popular outbound travel destinations during the upcoming New Year's Day break include South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, and Vietnam. Sales of tickets to Seoul soared 3.3 times from a year earlier, being the top choice for university students, while those to Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, popular spots among travelers under 30, jumped 3.2 times and 2.4 times, respectively.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev