Government pledges to root out rip-offs of tourists

By Lee Hyo-sik

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The government announced Monday a package of steps to clamp down on taxi drivers, small-shop owners and private clinics preying on Japanese visitors by charging them higher prices than locals and other foreign travelers.

"Korea has emerged as an attractive tourism destination in Asia, drawing nearly 10 million inbound tourists. But such sales fraud engineered by some greedy taxi drivers and small-scale retailers are feared to negatively affect the tourism industry. We will take all possible measures to root out the illicit act", said Shin Yong-eon, director general of tourism industry bureau at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Among envisioned measures, foreign tourists will be able to report their complaints to police through the TT Call Center, which provides 24-hour travel information in foreign languages, by dialing 1330.

In cooperation with various merchant associations, the ministry will also introduce a nationwide campaign to encourage their member businesses to extend hospitality to foreign visitors.

In a bid to upgrade Korea's image as an attractive tourism destination, the government plans to encourage travel agencies to come out with reasonably-priced tour packages, particularly for Chinese visitors.

"It has long been a problem that local travel agencies sell low-priced, poorly-scheduled travel packages to foreigners. This has been the main source of complaints by visitors as they are forced to spend money at various retail shops. We think now is the time to end this backward industry practice", Shin said.

The ministry said it will boost the monitoring of travel companies catering to Chinese to check whether they engage in dubious sales practices to lure more customers from the mainland.

"We will ask the Ministry of Justice to stop issuing visas to Chinese tourists recruited by tour agencies that don't abide by regulations. Additionally, we will set up tourism complaint centers in Beijing and Shanghai and provide more tourism information about Korea through Twitter and other social networking service tools", Shin said.

Unlicensed guides

The government will crack down on unlicensed tour guides and travel agencies that hire them, as part of efforts to provide high-quality services for foreign visitors. It also plans to introduce a comprehensive package of measures to prevent taxi drivers, small merchants and clinics from overcharging Japanese and other foreign travelers, as well as discourage travel companies from selling cheap, low-quality tour packages to particularly Chinese tourists.

"We will launch a taskforce in cooperation with Seoul City and tourism industry organizations this week to check whether travel agencies hired unlicensed tour guides", said Shin. "We will suspend companies employing unqualified guides from operating and impose fines on them".

About 1,000 Koreans and ethnic Koreans from mainland China are estimated to work as a tour guide here for Chinese tourists. But only 300 of them have state-issued licenses to do so.

"To provide Chinese and other inbound visitors with more accurate information on Korea's history, culture and tradition, we will train and nurture more guides capable of offering high-quality interpretation services", the director general said. "To do so, we will provide training programs and organize one additional state-administered exam in April for those seeking to become tour guides for non-Koreans".

The annual test for tour guides catering to foreign travelers is held in September each year.