THAAD retaliation may cost Korea 5 mil. tourists

Korea Tourism Organization President Jung Chang-soo speaks during a meeting at the Press Center in Seoul, Tuesday. / Courtesy of Courtesy of Korea Tourism Organization

This year's loss expected to be five times more than during MERS crisis

By Jung Min-ho

As China is trying to throttle Korea's tourism industry over the deployment of a U.S. anti-missile system here, Korea's government has stepped up efforts to fight it ― but to no avail.

Representatives of the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) and its regional branches gathered at the Press Center, Tuesday, to discuss ways to cope with the issue.

"We have done as many things as we can, but the situation is very concerning," KTO President Jung Chang-soo said.

Since the beginning of the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery on Korean soil in March, the Beijing's economic retaliation against it has reached the level of seen when it had territorial disputes with other countries, Jung noted.

"To make the situation worse, military tensions have built up here as North Korea continues to develop its nuclear weapons, which scares off potential tourists," he said.

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According to the KTO, if the retaliation continues, which is likely, Korea is expected to see 4.69 million fewer tourists by the end of the year. This is about five times more than the loss during the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome outbreak in 2015, when the number of tourists dropped by 970,000, from the previous year.

In the short run, the KTO says that there is no way to overcome the crisis. It is trying to reduce Korea's dependence on China for its tourism industry by using the crisis as an opportunity to make fundamental changes.

While promoting the country's tourism content to more countries, the KTO will focus more on promotional activities targeting Koreans.

"Compared to many countries, Koreans are more likely to travel overseas than their home country," a KTO official said. "Without strong demand for travel within Korea, the country could face such a crisis again."

According to the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute, domestic tourists in Korea comprise about 60 percent of the total, compared with Japan (93 percent) and the United States (81 percent).

The KTO said it plans to increase this by improving infrastructure and changing people's perception about domestic tourism.

Meanwhile, the KTO will continue to tap into new markets. Last week, it opened an office in Mongolia, and another office is expected to open in Kazakhstan this month.

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