Foreigners dissatisfied with shopping, taxi experiences

By Lee Hyo-sik

A tourist from Singapore, surnamed Yeow, came to Korea on a group tour with her family. During her trip, she bought a pack of ginseng products to take back home with her but when Yeow returned to Singapore, she noticed that the goods expiry date was in two months.

“We decided to return the products because we would not be able to consume them in two months. It would have been nice if a salesclerk had told us about the expiration date. Then, we would have bought goods that lasted longer,” she said.

A Japanese visitor, surnamed Sanape, bought some snacks at a Seoul department store to give to her colleagues back home. But when she opened the box at the office, the contents were covered with mold. “I was so angry that I immediately called the store and asked for a refund,” she said.

Another Japanese tourist Hisada took a taxi to a hotel near Coex in southern Seoul from Incheon International Airport and was asked to pay 120,000 won ($100) for the fare. “The driver intentionally covered the meter with a cushion-shaped thing in order to charge me a higher fare. He said the rate included highway toll fees and a 20-percent service charge. I felt like I was being ripped off,” he complained.

These are examples of some of the 570 complaints filed by foreign tourists in 2010 to the state-run Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), up from 502 in 2009.

Given the fact that Korea attracted a record 8.8 million visitors from overseas, 570 complaints may seem insignificant. But in reality, far more complaints may go unreported and unheeded as many foreigners opt to solve the problem on their own or simply do nothing about it.

“We received more complaints from foreign tourists in 2010 as the number of inbound visitors jumped 12.5 percent from a year earlier,” said an official at KTO’s tourist complaint center. “We received fewer complaints from Japanese tourists. But more visitors from Taiwan, Hong Kong and other Southeast Asian countries complained about shopping, transportation and other tourism-related products and services here.”

A total of 139 complaints concerned shopping inconveniences, with many discontent with the delivery of goods and the quality of the contents. Taxi-related complaints accounted for 58, followed by those in connection with travel agencies at 52.

“Based on what we have gathered from foreign visitors, we will indentify the most-frequently raised complaints and take a range of steps to help resolve them. We will also notify municipal governments and hospitality-related businesses of our findings to help them improve their services for foreigners,” the official said.

Those seeking to file a complaint and receive assistance in resolving pending problems visit KTO’s website (www.visitkorea.or.kr) or call 02-735-0101.

외국 관광객 불만은 쇼핑-택시-여행사 관련 순

한국관광공사(사장 이참)는 2010년 관광불편신고센터에 접수된 관광불편신고 건수는 2009년(640건) 대비 8.9% 증가한 697건이 접수됐다고 밝혔다. 국적별 접수 현황은 일본 43.2%, 한국 24.0%, 중화권 19.5%를 차지했다.

외국인 불편신고 건수는 2009년 468건에서 519건으로 51건(10.9%) 증가했다. 일본인의 불편신고 건수는 감소한 반면 중화권과 아시아•오세아니아, 미주, 유럽 등 외국인의 불편신고 건수는 모두 증가한 것으로 나타났다.

이 같은 결과는 2010년 방한 외래객이 약 880만 명으로 전년 대비 12.5% 증가함에 따라 전체적인 외국인 불편신고가 증가했고, 특히 대만과 홍콩 여행객을 중심으로 한 중화권의 불편신고가 증가했기 때문인 것으로 분석된다. 내국인의 불편신고 건수는 2009년 172건에서 2010년 178건으로 3.5% 증가했다.

신고내용은 외국인의 경우, 탁송지연과 내역오류 등 쇼핑관련 불편사항이 139건(26.8%)으로 가장 많았다. 부당요금 징수와 미터기 사용거부 등 택시 관련 건이 58건(11.2%), 여행사 관련 불편사항이 52건 (10.0%)으로 뒤를 이었다.

내국인의 경우 전체 178건의 신고 건수 중 계약조건 불이행 등 여행사 관련 불편이 62건(34.8%), 숙박 30건(16.9%), 공항 및 항공 14건(7.9%), 관광종사원 11건(6.2%) 등으로 나타났다. 전년 대비 숙박, 공항 및 항공관련 불편신고가 증가했으며 여행사, 관광종사원, 버스관련 불편신고는 다소 감소한 것으로 조사됐다.

이번 보고서는 관광공사 여행정보사이트(www.visitkorea.or.kr) 고객센터 관광불편신고센터에서 열람 가능하다.