South Korea is considering temporary visa exemptions for Chinese group tourists to boost the domestic tourism sector, after being spooked by the botched Dec. 3 martial law declaration and impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said on Thursday it also plans to move up next year’s tourism budget and spend 70% of it in the first half to jumpstart the tourism market.
The ministry reported the tourism market stabilization measures during a government meeting presided over by acting President and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo.
The government set a target of attracting 18.5 million foreign tourists in 2025, slightly less than this year’s target of 20 million but more than the record 17.5 million foreign visitors in 2019.
Foreign tourist arrivals have rebounded to 94% of pre-pandemic levels, reaching 13.7 million incoming visitors this year as of October. Yet the industry faces renewed strain due to the political unrest following Yoon’s martial law declaration, which prompted other countries to issue heightened alerts on travel to Korea.
The ministry said the government plans to help tourism businesses achieve 30 trillion won ($20.5 billion) in sales next year.
VISA-FREE FOR CHINESE GROUP TOURISTS
To stimulate the domestic tourism market, the government plans to boost convenience for incoming foreign tourists.
The ministry said it is strongly considering visa exemptions for Chinese group tourists organized by dedicated Korea-China travel agencies.
The visa issuance fee waiver for group tourists from China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, Cambodia and India will be extended through December 2025.
In addition, the temporary exemption from the Korea electronic travel authorization (K-ETA) program for 68 select countries will be extended another year through 2025.
To attract more foreign tourists with deep pockets, the culture ministry plans to improve a system to designate accredited tourism institutions and continue a temporary preferential entry screening system for participants in international conferences held in Korea.
The number of overseas offices set up to attract international conferences will be expanded from 8 to 12, according to the ministry.
The government will also promote Korea as a safe travel destination at major overseas events and partner with foreign media and online influencers on tourism campaigns.
KOREA GRAND SALE, KOREA BEAUTY FESTIVAL
As part of efforts to entice foreigners to visit Korea, the government plans to host mega events such as the Korea Grand Sale in January and February and the Korea Beauty Festival in June and July.
Free travel insurance will even be offered to 50,000 group tourists visiting Korea through the end of March, according to the culture ministry.
To encourage trips to areas outside Seoul, the government plans to introduce urban-style accommodations and build more regional lodging facilities.
It will also promote a “one plus one flight service” to allow foreign tourists landing at Incheon International or Gimpo International airports to connect to regional airports via domestic flights.
GOVERNMENT-BUSINESS COOPERATION
The government plans to cooperate with local companies, such as Naver Corp., to improve foreign-language maps and restaurant reservation and payment systems.
Efforts include expanding foreign-language translations of reviews for tourist sites and restaurants on local online services and enhancing the QR payment infrastructure at popular tourist attractions and shopping centers. Automated ticket vending machines that allow payments with foreign credit cards will also be introduced.
Financial support for the tourism industry is also being planned.
The government said it will extend financial support to tourism companies, including 536.5 billion won in loans, starting in January.
Some 500 billion won in emergency loans will be provided to travel agencies, hotels and businesses involved in MICE, or meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibition projects.
Write to In-Soo Nam at [email protected]
Joel Levin edited this article.
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