Coastguard death feared to strain goal to woo 10-mil. tourists

By Lee Hyo-sik

The recent killing of a Korea Coast Guard (KCG) officer by a Chinese fisherman is feared to strain the country’s goal of drawing more than 10 million foreign visitors this year.

According to officials from the Korea Tourism Organization, they are receiving inquiries from many Chinese tourists about whether it is safe for them to travel here. But they said Chinese tourist have yet to cancel a trip to Korea since the incident Monday.

Corporal Lee Cheong-ho, 41, was stabbed to death by the captain of a Chinese boat unlawfully operating in national waters near the maritime border with North Korea in the West Sea. Another officer Lee Nak-hoon, 33, sustained critical injuries.

Members of civic groups have been holding a protest rally in front of the Chinese Embassy in Seoul. The protesters are condemning the Chinese government’s refusal to make a sincere apology for the killing of the KCG officer.

KTO officials say they are closely monitoring the situation as a diplomatic row between Korea and China might adversely affect their campaign to attract more Chinese tourists.

Cautious optimism

``We don’t expect the latest incident to discourage Chinese from coming here. But we cannot say that it would not have a negative effect on attracting Chinese visitors either,’’ said Kwak Sang-sup, senior manager at the KTO’s Chinese team.

The KTO estimated the overall number of inbound tourists reached 8.97 million in the first 11 months of the year from January to November, up 10.5 percent from the same period last year. About 2.06 million were Chinese, up 17 percent from a year earlier, with Japanese tourists increasing 7 percent to 2.99 million.

In order for the country to attract over 10 million inbound tourists, over 1 million visitors have to come here in December, larger than the monthly average of 800,000 during the January to November period.

``It is just unfortunate that such a tragedy happened when Korea needs to attract people from the mainland in order to achieve its target as the number of Japanese visitors has stagnated. We are in close contact with our offices in China and keeping a close eye on the situation,’’ Kwak said. He said for now, the KTO has and will conduct its business as usual.

Li Chu-an, CEO of Hwawon Tour in Seoul, which caters to inbound Chinese travelers, urged the Chinese government to sincerely apologize for the murder of the KCC officer and take appropriate steps in order not to escalate the growing anti-China sentiment here. He is a naturalized Korean citizen from China.

``The incident has so far had no visible effect on inbound Chinese travelers. But we are receiving more and more inquiries from those who plan to come here. They are concerned about whether it is safe to come to Korea,’’ Li said. He said the Chinese government should take all possible steps to ease the public anger here.

When asked about whether Korea can accomplish its goal of drawing 10 million foreigners this year, the CEO said besides the murder of the KCG officer, inadequate tourism infrastructure is making it difficult to accommodate as many inbound visitors as the nation wants.

``We and other travel agencies cannot bring more tourists into the country, due to lack of affordable hotels in Seoul. Many Chinese seeking to tour the city have to sleep in Suwon and other cities in Gyeonggi Province, and commute between Seoul and its suburbs. It certainly does not appeal to the Chinese,’’ Li said.