 |
|
The first group of Chinese tourists arrive at Incheon Airport on Dec. 2 after the Chinese government lifted restrictions on group travel to South Korea. (by Shin So-young, staff photographer)
|
Some companies have been blocked from selling travel packages to the country
As the Chinese authorities once again take steps to restrict the sale of South Korean tour packages by some travel agencies, questions are being raised about the reason for such restrictions. This is likely to make Chinese travel agencies hesitant about South Korean travel once again, since they must remain on good terms with the authorities. According to multiple sources in the Chinese tourism industry who spoke with the Hankyoreh on Dec. 20, Haitao Travel, a small Chinese travel agency, has been prevented from selling travel packages to South Korea, including group tours, through the end of the year. Haitao Travel is the company that “broke the ice” on tours to South Korea by sending a group of 32 Chinese tourists to the country not even five days after the ban on group tours was lifted on Nov. 28. “In addition to Haitao Travel, there are several companies facing restrictions on selling travel packages to South Korea,” a source said. The Chinese authorities unofficially banned travel to South Korea in March and then allowed group tours departing from Beijing and Shandong Province eight months later. The Chinese government is apparently very sensitive about FAM tours (“familiarization” tours for promotional purposes) as well. After reports appeared in the South Korean media on Dec. 7 that a delegation of 150 people from 12 Chinese provinces had been invited to visit South Korea on Dec. 19, a verbal order was apparently given that FAM tours are also not allowed in regions other than Beijing and Shandong Province. “I heard from a travel agency in Shanghai that the authorities had given instructions not to participate in FAM tours bound for South Korea and to also keep an eye out for advertisements about South Korean travel packages,” said a source in the travel industry. While it’s common for these companies to deny that the authorities have given such orders, it’s generally believed that these restrictions are not being implemented across the entire tourism industry. Not only have Chinese tourists started to visit South Korea on group travel packages using group visas, but the China Youth Travel Service, one of China’s major travel agencies, is moving forward with the sale of group travel packages to South Korea to depart in January and February of next year. “When the travel ban was carried out, the authorities held a meeting and sent direct notification to the travel agencies, but this time I haven’t heard about such a meeting taking place,” another source said. The South Korean Embassy to China also said that “Chinese applications for group visas keep increasing as well.” Even so, some think that actions by the authorities to restrict some travel packages could make Chinese travel agencies less eager to plan tours to South Korea and promote their sale. Since these actions are assumed to be aimed at keeping South Korean travel from become too popular, they are sure to intimidate the industry. “Aside from the China Youth Travel Service, basically no travel agencies have started doing any significant marketing for tours to South Korea,” a source said. Given the changing format of Chinese tourism to South Korea, another view is that it would be problematic for the industry to return to its old reliance on low-cost group tours. During the eight months when the ban on group tours was in place, the focus of Chinese tourism to South Korean has already started shifting to individual travel. “In the first half of this month, applications for individual visas increased around 2% at diplomatic offices in China and 21% here at the embassy. The downward trend has ended and we’re starting to see an upward trend,” the South Korean Embassy to China said. In related news, the South Korean government is planning to ask during a second round of negotiations for the South Korea-China Free Trade Agreement that South Korean travel agencies to be allowed to do business in China so that they can sell foreign travel packages inside the country. The two countries agreed during the Dec. 14 summit to move forward with these negotiations, which will focus on services and investment. This would effectively neutralize efforts by the Chinese government to ban the advertisement of travel packages to South Korea. By Kim Oi-hyun, Beijing correspondent Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]
