By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter
Jeju Island will provide up to 50 percent discount at hotels, restaurants and tourist attractions for about two months.
Jeju Special Self-Governing Province and the province's Tourism Association said Wednesday that the resort island will hold ``Jeju Grand Sale'' from Aug. 11 through Sept. 30 as part of efforts to bring more tourists there.
More than 2,300 restaurants, lodgings, shopping centers, rental car agencies, airlines and ferries will take part in the move, offering 20 to 50 percent discounts. The fare for tourist attractions such as museums and parks will also be halved.
Those who have a coupon book can enjoy the discounts. The coupon book, to be issued next week, will be available at the airport and ports in Jeju.
``The grand sale is in line with Jeju's effort to regain its competitiveness as a tourist destination and enhance its image, as the island, despite the beautiful scenery, was notorious for high travel costs as well as poor and unkind services,'' Yang Kyung-ho, director of the province's tourism police division, said.
About 900 shops, restaurants and lodgings voluntarily took part in the service upgrading program as of June ― 14 golf courses lowered the golf cart fees by up to 50 percent, hotels cut the rate by 10-20 percent, and some beaches lent parasols and tubes for free.
``It worked. We saw a 7-percent increase in the number of visitors during the first half of this year compared to the same period of last year, while the average annual increase ratio used to be about 3 percent,'' Yang said.