South Korea Acting President Announces Measures to Stabilize Tourism Market
All-Out Effort to Revive Tourism Market Hit by Martial Law Impact
The government is promoting visa-free entry for Chinese group tourists. Additionally, 70% of next year's tourism budget of 1.3 trillion won will be spent in the first half of the year. Amid growing concerns about the domestic tourism industry due to the recent emergency martial law situation, the government plans to make every effort to revitalize tourism.
On the morning of the 26th, the government held the 9th National Tourism Strategy Meeting at the National Museum of Korea in Seoul, chaired by Acting President and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, where it announced the 'Tourism Market Stabilization Measures' including these plans.
First, to expand the domestic tourism market, the government decided to improve the convenience of entry and exit for inbound tourists. To this end, it is considering a pilot implementation of a visa-free system for Chinese group tourists recruited through dedicated Korea-China travel agencies.
Furthermore, the government will extend the exemption period for the electronic travel authorization system (K-ETA) for countries and regions currently under temporary exemption, as well as the visa issuance fee exemption period for group tourists from China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, Cambodia, and India until December next year.
The government will spend 940 billion won, which is 70% of next year's tourism budget, in the first half of the year and will also increase the three specialized financial supports for tourism businesses starting January next year. The 'three specialized financial supports for tourism businesses' consist of general loans of 536.5 billion won, interest subsidy of 100 billion won, and credit guarantee loans of 70 billion won. To establish a management safety net for the tourism industry, an emergency special loan of 50 billion won will also be provided.
To promote Korea as a safe travel destination worldwide, aggressive inbound tourism marketing will be pursued. Major international events such as the ASEAN+3 Tourism Ministers' Meeting and the FITUR International Tourism Fair in Spain will be actively promoted in January next year, and comprehensive inbound campaigns will be conducted in collaboration with major foreign media and famous influencers.
Large-scale events will be advanced to the first half of next year. The large-scale shopping and cultural tourism festival, 'Korea Grand Sale,' will be held in January and February next year to quickly expand winter inbound tourism demand.
In particular, a new large-scale Hallyu comprehensive event, 'Beyond K-Festa,' will be established in June next year, and the 'Korea Beauty Festival,' a comprehensive K-beauty experience event, will be held in June and July next year to intensively attract inbound tourists.
At the meeting, Acting President Han said, "Due to recent domestic circumstances, the recovery of the inbound tourism market may be hindered and inbound sentiment may be weakened, so the government must make every effort to stabilize the tourism market and achieve the greatest results."
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