Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Announces 'China-Dedicated Travel Agency' Contest... Focus on Infectious Disease Response Capability

Chinese tourists entering the arrival hall of Terminal 1 at Incheon International Airport.

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] The government is planning to recruit new travel agencies specializing in China and enhance their COVID-19 related capabilities in preparation for the post-COVID-19 era.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on the 8th that it will revise the "Guidelines for the Operation of Travel Agencies Specializing in Group Tours from China."

According to the revised guidelines by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, travel agencies specializing in China must comply with quarantine authorities' guidelines to efficiently prevent the spread of infectious diseases in the event of a first-class infectious disease outbreak under the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act. Additionally, travel agencies that contribute to creating a safe travel environment will be selected and supported in developing safe travel products and marketing locally in China.

The Ministry will also comprehensively evaluate travel agencies based on their capability to attract Chinese tourists, business status, travel product planning skills, and illegal stay management capabilities to designate excellent agencies as China-specialized travel agencies. Only these designated agencies can attract group tourists from China, and currently, 180 agencies have been designated.

Applications for new designations this year can be submitted on the Korea Association of Travel Agents website from the 12th to the 25th of this month. The results will be announced around July.