Do Je-hae edits news stories as part of the AI team.
Moon vows support to revive travel industry
A statue is seen at the Jeju International Airport wearing a mask. With the eased social distancing campaign, tourism is slowly picking up in Korea. Yonhap
By Do Je-hae
By Do Je-hae
President Moon Jae-in vowed strong measures to overcome the unemployment crisis that has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, during a meeting with people from the hotel industry, Wednesday.
Moon's meeting with hotel executives and employees reflects the government's particular concerns about the travel industry, one of the sectors that has been hit hardest by the pandemic. Recent data from the Korea Hotel Association showed that the hotel and resort businesses have lost an estimated 580 billion won in expected revenue as of March.
Against this backdrop, the meeting was arranged to raise the concerns of the tourism sector amid the drastic reduction in the number of travelers as well as cuts in jobs and new hires, according to Cheong Wa Dae.
“My heart is saddened when thinking about the travel industry, which started off the year with hopes of attracting 20 million tourists,” Moon said in the meeting at the Grand Walkerhill Seoul in the Gwangjin District of Seoul, according to press pool reports.
“Due to the social distancing campaign and a sharp drop in the number of foreign tourists, people's use of hotels has dropped significantly and sales have been falling sharply. The tourism, lodging and food industries are also experiencing an unemployment shock, with a noticeable decrease in the number of newly-hired people and more employees taking leaves of absence.”
Moon said that the government will provide financial aid to the travel and hotel industries to facilitate their resurgence. “A job crisis is looming, but the government will be with you with the determination to protect every single job. The government has designated the tourism and accommodation industry, which is on the verge of restructuring, as a sector for special aid, and is covering up to 90 percent of business suspension allowances.”
President Moon Jae-in speaks at a meeting with hotel industry insiders at a hotel in Seoul on April 29. Yonhap
He added his administration will additionally provide 10 trillion won this month to cover job security measures. “The government will shoulder part of the wages for businesses where unions and management have signed agreements to retain jobs.”
The President highly recognized the agreements signed between the Korea Hotel Association and the Korean Federation of Tourist and Service Industry Worker's Unions, March 26, in which the two sides agreed to make efforts to guarantee workers' jobs.
He underlined that it was important to find a win-win strategy for management and employees. “The most important thing for tackling the crisis is retaining jobs, not restructuring,” Moon added.
He said that things are looking up for the tourism sector with the upcoming holidays in early May as well as the planned payout of anti-disaster funds to all citizens. “These will be good opportunities for boosting consumer sentiment.”