Jeju municipalities, tourism businesses at odds over visitors

Officials from Seogwipo City on Jeju Island remove canola flowers using tractors, Wednesday, to prevent massive visiting of tourists in springtime. / Yonhap

By Jun Ji-hye

Local airlines and hotels are apparently rushing to bring domestic tourists to Jeju Island as part of a desperate effort to survive the COVID-19 pandemic even as the local government there is asking tourists to refrain from visiting the island amid concerns over an influx of the novel coronavirus.

Luxury hotels on the island have released packages to attract would-be honeymooners who are unable go overseas at a time when many nations worldwide have sealed their borders and halted flights.

The Shilla Hotel Jeju, which released a “suite honeymoon package” in early March, said reservations for the package more than doubled in April as the resort island has emerged as an alternative honeymoon destination.

“We had originally planned to run the package until April 29, but decided to extend it until June to keep up with increasing demand,” a Shilla Hotel Jeju official said.

WE Hotel Jeju, operated by Jeju Halla Hospital, as well as Lotte Hotel Jeju are also running honeymoon packages.

Air carriers have also been increasing their flights to Jeju, and are offering tickets at special prices, to bolster faltering earnings by utilizing domestic routes.

Budget carrier Air Seoul decided to increase its flights between Gimpo and Jeju from 25 a week to 32, April 6.

Other low-cost carriers including Jin Air and Air Busan have also increased the number of flights to the resort island amid recent signs of a recovery in demand.

But island residents are expressing concern over a possible increase in the spread of the virus there, especially after learning in late March that a student and her mother, who traveled to the island despite having coronavirus symptoms, later tested positive for COVID-19 after returning home to Seoul.

Their visit forced local stores to shut and more than 40 people to be quarantined as a result of coming into contact with the infected tourists.

Amid growing fears, Seogwipo City plowed up canola flowers on the city's famous Noksan Road and flowers that covered 9.5 hectares of the city plaza, Wednesday, to keep tourists from visiting the sites.

The city officials mobilized four tractors to clear the plants.

Noksan Road has been cited as one of the most beautiful scenic routes in Korea as flowers line the 10 kilometer road in spring, attracting about 160,000 tourists annually.

“Canola flowers on Noksan Road are the most popular tourist attraction here, but city officials and local representatives decided to remove them as many elderly people live near the area, and the government extended the social distancing campaign for another two weeks,” a Seogwipo City official said.