Bolder Steps Needed to Attract More Chinese Tourists

A plan to allow Chinese tourists to enjoy a visa waiver program is part of government efforts to triple the number of foreign tourists to South Korea by 2020. There is no doubt that the program will contribute to attracting more Chinese as they will now be allowed to stay in the country for up to 30 days without a visa. It seems somewhat belated to launch the no-visa entry system now, given that human exchanges between the two nations are soaring.

China is South Korea's largest trading partner, edging out the United States and Japan. The two-way trade between China and Korea surged to $168.3 billion last year from $6.3 billion in 1992 when they established ties. The sum is much higher than $84.9 billion between Korea and Japan and $84.8 billion between Korea and the U.S. In 2008, 3.96 million Koreans visited China, while 1.17 million Chinese traveled to Korea. Nearly 60,000 Chinese are studying here, while about 57,000 Koreans students are staying in China.

Experts predict that the visa waiver program will help double the number of human exchanges between the two nations in only a short amount of time. A total of 45.84 million Chinese traveled abroad last year. Only 2.6 percent of them visited South Korea. This shows that there is vast room for the country to entice more Chinese to come here in the future. It is expected that 100 million Chinese will leave for overseas destinations in 2015. The Seoul government is seeking to grab 10 percent or 10 million Chinese travelers in that year.

The Lee Myung-bak administration has the right policy in this regard. It plans to implement the program on a gradual basis on the occasion of the Expo 2010 Shanghai, which will be held between May and October. South Korea is to launch its 2010 to 2012 ``Visit Korea'' campaign to promote the nation's tourism. Thus, the visa waiver program is required to produce successful results.

However, Korea and China need to clear some obstacles. The two nations should take measures to prevent travelers from becoming illegally staying workers. South Korea is now suffering from the problem of undocumented workers from other countries. Therefore, policymakers should make thorough preparations to set up a better screening system to avoid the influx of Chinese migrant workers in the guise of tourists. It is also important to develop diverse tourism packages and infrastructure to make the nation more attractive for not only Chinese but also people around the world.