By Chung Ah-young
Chinese tourists are visiting Korea en masse during the China National Holiday, the so-called Golden Week of Oct. 1 to 7, raising hopes of a boost to the sluggish local tourism industry.
According to the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), some 210,000 Chinese tourists are expected to visit Korea during the holiday.
To seize on the occasion, Korean tourism officials and businesses are seeking to attract more Chinese visitors through various discount events.
However, some cheap package programs and poor hospitality are leaving Chinese tourists less than thrilled with Korea.
Some travel agencies are offering various discount programs to raise their numbers of inbound travelers to the levels enjoyed prior to the outbreak of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome earlier this year.
For instance, a cheap package including flight tickets and accommodations for three nights costs 200,000 won. Most such cheap packages force tourists to visit designated shopping centers, prompting them to spend more money rather than truly enjoy the nation's attractions.
Such practices are leading Chinese tourists to have negative opinions about Korea. According to a recent survey by the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute, the satisfaction level of Chinese visitors to Korea ranked 14th among the 16 surveyed countries. Also, only 25 percent of Chinese tourists who traveled to Korea said that they would revisit.
Also, the KTO has seen the number of complaints from Chinese tourists soar from 206 in 2012 to 602 in 2014.
By type, merchants' rudeness and perceived rip-offs account for 30.2 percents, followed by overcharging or the wild driving of taxis at 12.4 percent; poor lodging facilities or services, 11.1 percent; travel agents' non-fulfillment of contract terms, 9.3 percent; poor airport and flight services, 6.6 percent; and poor restaurants at 5.2 percent.
To tackle these, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has recently announced measures to improve hospitality for foreign tourists, such as strengthening penalties on taxi drivers who overcharge.
However, experts point out that the government's measures cannot fix the basic problem of people seeking short-term profits. Instead, new tourism content should be developed as travel trends have been changing.
According to the report by KDB Securities based on Ctrip, the Shanghai-based online travel site, some 60 percent of Chinese tourists to Korea earlier this year were those born after 1980.
These people prefer individual free tours seeking new spots, such as suburban areas away from the capital, rather than group tours to popular destinations.
The Korea Economic Research Institute said in a recent report that although the number of Chinese tourists is on the rise, the ratio of those who revisit has been on the decline.
"Although the free tours are becoming a trend among young Chinese tourists, the local tourism industry sticks to low-cost travel packages with poor quality," the report said.
"This practice only makes Chinese tourists lose interest in Korea. New tourism content for young Chinese tourists to enjoy should be developed," it said.
The number of Chinese tourists has increased from 2.2 million in 2011 to 2.8 million in 2012, 4.3 million in 2013, 6.1 million in 2014 and 3.2 million as of July of this year.
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According to the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), some 210,000 Chinese tourists are expected to visit Korea during the holiday.
To seize on the occasion, Korean tourism officials and businesses are seeking to attract more Chinese visitors through various discount events.
However, some cheap package programs and poor hospitality are leaving Chinese tourists less than thrilled with Korea.
Some travel agencies are offering various discount programs to raise their numbers of inbound travelers to the levels enjoyed prior to the outbreak of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome earlier this year.
For instance, a cheap package including flight tickets and accommodations for three nights costs 200,000 won. Most such cheap packages force tourists to visit designated shopping centers, prompting them to spend more money rather than truly enjoy the nation's attractions.
Such practices are leading Chinese tourists to have negative opinions about Korea. According to a recent survey by the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute, the satisfaction level of Chinese visitors to Korea ranked 14th among the 16 surveyed countries. Also, only 25 percent of Chinese tourists who traveled to Korea said that they would revisit.
Also, the KTO has seen the number of complaints from Chinese tourists soar from 206 in 2012 to 602 in 2014.
By type, merchants' rudeness and perceived rip-offs account for 30.2 percents, followed by overcharging or the wild driving of taxis at 12.4 percent; poor lodging facilities or services, 11.1 percent; travel agents' non-fulfillment of contract terms, 9.3 percent; poor airport and flight services, 6.6 percent; and poor restaurants at 5.2 percent.
To tackle these, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has recently announced measures to improve hospitality for foreign tourists, such as strengthening penalties on taxi drivers who overcharge.
However, experts point out that the government's measures cannot fix the basic problem of people seeking short-term profits. Instead, new tourism content should be developed as travel trends have been changing.
According to the report by KDB Securities based on Ctrip, the Shanghai-based online travel site, some 60 percent of Chinese tourists to Korea earlier this year were those born after 1980.
These people prefer individual free tours seeking new spots, such as suburban areas away from the capital, rather than group tours to popular destinations.
The Korea Economic Research Institute said in a recent report that although the number of Chinese tourists is on the rise, the ratio of those who revisit has been on the decline.
"Although the free tours are becoming a trend among young Chinese tourists, the local tourism industry sticks to low-cost travel packages with poor quality," the report said.
"This practice only makes Chinese tourists lose interest in Korea. New tourism content for young Chinese tourists to enjoy should be developed," it said.
The number of Chinese tourists has increased from 2.2 million in 2011 to 2.8 million in 2012, 4.3 million in 2013, 6.1 million in 2014 and 3.2 million as of July of this year.
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