[Tourism] Will Korea Become Top 10 Tourist Destination?

Korea needs to improve systems and services to provide foreign visitors with better information about Korean culture and easier access to tour sites. / Yonhap

By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter

The Korean economy is the world's 13th largest, however, when it comes to tourism, the country lags far behind in the rankings.

Many say Korea has few things to do, see or enjoy, while others say travel costs in Korea are too high.

However, what really makes foreign visitors here unsatisfied may be systems and services that are inconvenient and unfriendly to them ― Korean-only signs, taxi drivers and shop owners who try to overcharge foreign travelers, and the lack of professional guides who can properly introduce Korean culture to them.

According to a survey by the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), 44.4 percent of foreign visitors came to Korea for travel in 2003 and 42.7 percent, for business. But the ratio was reversed in 2005 ― 42 percent were tourists and 43.7 percent were businesspeople.

``The total number of visitors increases every year, but it is a natural increase as a consequence of globalization and growing trade. The number of `pure tourists,' who come to Korea through travel agencies, is decreasing,'' Joe Gye-seock, a staff member of the Korea Association of Travel Agents, said.

The Lee Myung-bak government, which aims to make Korea one of top 10 tourist destinations, will need to improve systems if it is to attract visitors.

ccessibility

The inconvenience of travel in Korea starts even before getting into the country with its visa system.

The neighboring country of China has a huge population, and attracting some of the nationals will largely boost Korea's tourism. But the visa system for them is complicated, making them give up.

``It takes two weeks for Chinese nationals to get a Korean visa, while it takes two days to get a Japanese one. We can't have competitiveness in that way,'' KTO President Oh Jee-chul said in a recent media briefing.

Last April, Korea adopted a visa waiver program for Chinese students on school excursions. But the program is applied to trips organized by each school, while such excursions in China are usually organized by youth organizations. Due to the difference between the rule and reality, the program benefits nobody.

It is also difficult for Chinese companies to provide their workers with incentive tours to Korea ― Korean consulates in China are allowed to issue group visas when the hometowns of at least 80 percent of the workers belong to the consulate's jurisdiction, while the employees' hometowns are varied.

``Korea needs to simplify the visa issuance procedure for public and business officials, students on school excursions and family tourists,'' Oh said.

Quality Guides

Especially on package tours, a guide's role is important as he or she must provide correct information about Korea and make travelers' stay here comfortable.

But Korea is short of quality, professional guides. ``The number of guides speaking English, Chinese and Japanese is enough. But for languages less popular, such as French, Spanish and Russian, we have so small a number of fluent guides. If the number of visitors from those countries double, it's not just a good thing, as we can't supply enough guides,'' Joe said.

Those wanting to be tourist guides should take a government-run exam for certification. However, not many people apply for the job, as it is recognized as a so-called ``3D job,'' which stands for difficult, dirty and dangerous.

``They make small money, and their income is irregular, as they work only when travelers come. So, they focus on selling optional tourist programs or forcing tourists to shop rather than on their primary role, because in that way, they can get commissions from shop owners or travel agencies they have behind-the-scenes contract with,'' Joe said.

The staff member said that state-driven efforts are needed to raise quality guides and improve their services. ``Those guides are playing a role of nonofficial diplomats, introducing Korea to foreigners,'' he said.

Tourist-Friendly Services

Most signs are written only in Korean, and in cases where some are written in English they carry ungrammatical sentences, wrong spellings, and false information.

A KTO survey showed the second biggest difficulty foreign travelers encountered here were signs that they could not understand, following difficulty in communication.

Romanization of Korean words also differs from organization to organization. The government orthography is Gyeongsang-do, while the Web site of the state-run Korea Railroad (Korail) says Kyoungsang-do. Koreans know the two refer to the same region, but it can make a huge difference to foreigners.

Myeongdong, one of the most famous tourist destinations here, is also introduced as ``Myungdong'' on the Jung-gu ward office's official English Web site.

The government should also take action to root out overcharging that tourism industry people sometimes inflict on foreigners by taking advantage of their unfamiliarity with Korean systems and language, the KTO head said.

``Korean taxis have been notorious for being unkind, speeding and overcharging for the last 30 years. The malpractice should be changed now,'' Oh said.

rahnita@koreatimes.co.kr