By Lee Hyo-sik
A growing number of Japanese tourists here are lodging complaints against a widespread cheating scheme engineered by taxi drivers, street venders and other hospitality-related local businesses that cater to foreign visitors.
They say there are so-called ``Japanese prices,’’ which are much higher than those normally charged to locals and other foreign travelers, claiming that Korean merchants intentionally charge them much more for the same goods and services.
With more Japanese becoming victims to such scams, more travel-related websites in Japan have begun issuing a warning for those planning to visit here. Some of them posted a list of things that Japanese travelers should be careful about while in Korea. Other websites carried hundreds of stories about how Japanese visitors were swindled by street peddlers and other small retail shop owners in Korea.
Tourism industry watchers here expressed concern, saying it could pour cold water on the nation’s efforts to attract over 10 million inbound visitors this year and be considered a major tourism destination in Asia.
``With more non-Koreans coming here, the number of complaints filed by them have increased over the years,’’ said Kim Hyun-joo, manager of the Tourism Complaint Center, run by the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO). ``In 2011, we received a total of 724 complaints, of which 37 percent were lodged by Japanese travelers. The majority complained about the quality of products they purchased and overcharging by taxis.’’ But the figure is probably much higher in reality as many do not report their experience.
Tourism authorities are under growing pressure to introduce a nationwide campaign to encourage citizens to extend hospitality to foreign visitors, while boosting cooperation with law enforcement authorities to clamp down on taxi drivers and small-scale retailers preying on non-Korean tourists.
Japanese are the largest group of foreign visitors totaling 3.29 million in 2011, followed by Chinese at 2.22 million. In the past, the Japanese tourists used to travel in groups with local guides. But these days, the majority of them come here without being a part of a tour group, seeking to shop where Koreans shop and eat where Koreans eat.
But the problem is that many street venders, restaurants in traditional markets and other small-scale retail businesses overcharge Japanese travelers.
For instance, a cart bar set up near Namdaemun Traditional Market in central Seoul charged Japanese visitors four times more than what it normally charged Korean patrons. Additionally, a driver of a large-sized taxi, called ``Call Van,’’ asked Japanese customers to pay twice the regular fare.
On Feb. 17, police booked a 48-year-old call van driver surnamed Kim for demanding a Japanese woman pay 330,000 won in fares, 10 times the regular charge, after driving only 2 kilometers in downtown Seoul. Kim also locked the tourist inside the vehicle until she paid the charge.
Similar stories have been posted on Yahoo Japan, the country’s most visited portal, and other websites frequently visited by travelers.
Yahoo Japan now offers a list of travel tips for those planning to go to Korea. It advised them not to buy goods from street venders in Seoul and be extra cautious when taking a taxi, among others. Some sites even spread unfounded rumors about Korea, some of which say massage shops are infested with dangerous germs and foreign women are often sexually assaulted at night.
Japanese and other foreign tourists should pay extra caution when eating or shopping at street stalls and small retail shops, which display no price tags, Kim of KTO said.
``They should also be extra careful when taking a taxi. They should use cabs with four-digit license plate numbers starting with 3. Those who experience any inconvenience should call our center at 02-735-0101 or visit the KTO website (visitkorea.or.kr),’’ the manager said.
Rhee Byoung-chan, director of the KTO’s Japan team, said it is unfortunate that an increasing number of Japanese visitors are subject to fraud engineered by greedy taxi drivers and retailers. ``In the past, merchants here used to rip off foreign travelers but it had largely stopped over the years as Korea became richer. But with the ongoing economic slump, some taxi drivers and merchants have begun doing it again.’’
He said KTO will implement a nationwide hospitality campaign encouraging locals to be friendlier toward non-Korean travelers. It also plans to ask police to crack down on those exploiting foreign guests.
``We do not think it would develop into a full-scale publicity disaster. But we will closely monitor the situation. At the same time, we will provide valuable travel tips to foreign tourists to help them enjoy their stay here,’’ Rhee said.
In 2011, a total of 9.79 million inbound tourists came here, up 11.3 percent from the previous year. This year, the state-run tourism promoter aims to draw 11 million.