Tourism industry moving to resume overseas package tours

Expectations are growing that international tourism will resume as an increasing number of people have been vaccinated around the world and travel restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic are being lifted cautiously. gettyimagesbank

By Jun Ji-hye

Travel agencies are moving fast to resume overseas package tours as the nation's vaccination rate is picking up speed and travel restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic are beginning to be lifted cautiously in some countries.

Industry officials expect demand for overseas travel to increase rapidly at some point once more people receive vaccine shots, and once the government establishes “travel bubbles” with other countries.

Travel bubbles refer to a partnership between two or more cities or countries that have managed to curtail COVID-19 infections to allow quarantine-free air travel in both directions. On June 9, the government announced that at least one travel bubble agreement could be signed as early as next month.

In line with this development of situations, travel agencies are rushing to release overseas package tours catering to those who have been fully vaccinated.

Very Good Tour, a local travel agency, said its tours to Paris will begin on July 12 as six people have made their reservations.

The firm noted that another tour package to Guam will leave on Aug. 14 with 44 tourists, Aug. 18 with 55 and Sept. 18 with 38.

Guam is one of the candidates that could potentially sign a travel bubble agreement with Korea. The government earlier said it had sounded out the intentions of several countries and territories, including Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Guam and Saipan, to establish travel bubble agreements.

The company is planning to launch additional tour packages to Taiwan and Singapore by the end of this month.

“Travel bubble agreements will considerably break down barriers to overseas travel,” an official from Very Good Tour said. “We expect demand for travel to increase rapidly as many people have been stuck at home amid the pandemic.”

Bird Island in northern Saipan / gettyimagesbank

Online tour agency Interpark Tour has launched several international package tours to Europe, including eight-day tours to Eastern Europe and 10-day tours to Western Europe.

Hana Tour, the country's largest travel agency, is also preparing to launch package tours to Guam soon.

Regarding concerns about the possible inflow of coronavirus variants through travelers, an official from a Seoul-based tour agency said, “We are aware that safety is the most important issue. We will ask tourists to maintain a safe distance at all times and keep complying thoroughly with quarantine measures.”

Domestic air carriers are also eager to resume their international flights.

Asiana Airlines will begin operating flights from Incheon to Saipan on July 24, 16 months after they were suspended due to the pandemic.

Currently, the government of Saipan exempts people from mandatory isolation following their arrival if they have been fully vaccinated with the Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson's Janssen or AstraZeneca vaccines, and 14 days have passed since their vaccinations.

Air Seoul will operate flights to Guam twice a week, beginning Aug. 12, while T'way Air is ready to operate flights to Guam and Saipan next month.

At the same time, the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Tourism Organization will host the Seoul Tourism Fair 2021 in August in a bid to support Seoul-based tour agencies' overseas marketing to attract more foreign tourists.

Those who are invited to the online event include tourism industry officials and general consumers in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia, some of which have been mentioned as candidates to sign travel bubble agreements with Korea.

“We will do our best to help travel agencies in Seoul prepare preemptively for the resumption of international tourism,” said Lee Jun who heads the global marketing team at Seoul Tourism Organization.