Tourists to US to Pay Extra $10
By Lee Tae-hoon
Staff Reporter
Koreans will soon have to pay an extra $10 to visit the United States as the latter plans to levy the fee on visitors from 35 countries subject to the Visa Waiver Program (VWP).
President Barack Obama signed legislation into law Thursday that calls for charging VWP visitors the $10 tax. Experts say it will take five to 12 months before the new system is implemented.
Korea signed the visa waiver scheme with the U.S. in November 2008 to allow the citizens of the two countries to visit each other visa free for up to 90 days.
Those wishing to visit the U.S. under the VWP have to fill out an online form 72 hours before traveling.
European countries have opposed the initiative, saying they will impose retaliatory fees on Americans.
Korea will also consider levying a similar tax.
``Korea will need to review whether it is appropriate to impose a reciprocal fee under the visa-free travel program,'' Song Jin-hwan, an official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said. ``We will keep an eye on the responses of European countries and Japan.''
Song said the number of Koreans travelling to the U.S. jumped to 8.5 percent of the total number of overseas tourists in 2009, up 2.2 percent from the previous year.
Of 760,000 Koreans who visited the U.S. between November 2008 and September 2009, some 210,000 visited the country under the VWP, he said.
The U.S. says the measure is aimed at reversing a decline in foreign tourists _ it saw 633,000 fewer overseas visitors in 2008, compared to 2000.
However, critics say it goes against basic economic logic to promote tourism by charging people more and will eventually deter foreigners from visiting the U.S.
``It's absolutely counterintuitive. To us, we're saying we'd love to see more people visit the United States, but we're going to charge you more for the privilege of entering the country,'' a spokesman for the International Air Transport Association told ABC News. ``Instead, we should be focusing on how to make customs and immigration easier for people.''
미국 방문 10달러 추가 지불
비자 면제 프로그램 관련 35개국의 미국 방문객들은 추가로 10달러를 내야 할 것 같다.
오바마 대통령은 목요일 이들 국가로부터 오는 방문객들에게 10 달러 세금을 부과하는 법에 서명했기 때문이다.
한국의 지난 2008년 11월 미국과 비자면제 협정을 서명해 양국 국민들이 비자 없이 90일 간 상대국을 방문할 수 있도록 했다.
미국 여행객들은 비자 면제 프로그램하에서 출발 72시간 전까지 온라인 상에서 서류의 빈칸을 채우도록 하고 있다.
유럽 국가는 자국을 방문하는 미국인들에 보복 부과금을 물리겠다며 이 조치에 반대했다.
한국도 유사한 부과금을 물리는 것을 고려하고 있다.