According to the news on the website of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Korea on the 15th, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Korea announced on the 15th that a South Korean travel agency was ordered to close its business because it organized low-cost tour groups targeting Chinese tourists and forced tourists to shop.
According to the South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Culture, a Chinese tourist reported that the tour guide forced shopping after joining the tour group organized by the travel agency in February. After the investigation by the Korea Tourism Association, the travel agency was ordered to suspend business for one month for rectification on the grounds of "unreasonable low-cost travel". In the follow-up survey, it was also found that the travel agency, as a "designated travel agency for China's travel to South Korea", had repeatedly outsourced duty-free shop shopping and other items to non designated travel agencies. On May 14, the travel agency was finally disqualified from being a designated travel agency.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Sports of the Republic of Korea said that since 2016, it was the first time for the Korean government to impose administrative sanctions on travel agencies on the grounds of "organizing Chinese group tours to South Korea at unreasonable prices, or generating income only by tourists' shopping rebates".
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Sports of the Republic of Korea mentioned in the announcement that, after China reopened its tourist groups to the Republic of Korea in August 2020, China became the largest source of inbound tourists to the Republic of Korea in the first quarter of this year, with the number of tourists to the Republic of Korea reaching 1.01 million, an encouraging recovery compared with 2023.
With regard to the next work plan, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Sports of the Republic of Korea said that it would revise the work guide of designated travel agencies for Chinese tours to the Republic of Korea next month, strengthen the qualification review of designated travel agencies, refine the administrative punishment standards for acts that disrupt the order of the tourism industry, and support excellent travel agencies.
Screenshot of the website of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Korea
According to the previous report, in March this year, the Chinese Embassy in South Korea once sent a document saying that several recent tourist groups to South Korea reported to the Chinese Embassy in South Korea that they encountered forced consumption on the way to travel, and some tourists were once interrupted because they were unwilling to spend.
The Chinese Embassy in South Korea reminds group tourists to carefully choose travel agencies and tourism products, be alert to unreasonable "low price tours" involving forced consumption, and be careful not to fall into tourism disputes due to forced shopping, which will affect tourism experience and safety.
The Seoul Municipal Government also said in March that the city would intensify its efforts to crack down on unfair tourism behaviors, including "dumping tourism", punish unqualified tour guides and improve the quality of local tourism.
The Seoul Municipal Government said that it would cooperate with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the country to stop travel agencies from providing "dumping tourism" and share relevant information with the Chinese Embassy in South Korea. The city will also expand the reporting center for illegal tourism activities, and combat various illegal and unfair tourism behaviors through the ombudsman system.
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