S. Korea tourism industry facing unprecedented crisis over prolonged impact of COVID-19
- 4 years ago
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South Korea's tourism industry has suffered losses amounting to some 1-point-9 billion dollars so far this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic,....with the nation's biggest airhub Incheon International Airport seeing a whopping 95 percent drop in traffic.
The industry is likely to rebound slightly considering the seeming stabilization of the virus in the country, but even that isn't particularly welcome news.
Lee Kyung-eun tells us more.
Insa-dong, located in Seoul's central Jongno-gu District used to be bustling with foreign travelers, wearing hanbok, South Korea's traditional attire.
However, given the specter of COVID-19, the streets are now eerily empty.
"Last year, we usually had up to 300 visitors a week, with 95 percent of them being foreigners.
These days, we see no foreigners and only about 10 locals."
Since April, the average number of daily entrants at Incheon International Airport is around 45-hundred,… down more than 95 percent on-year .
Outbound travelers have also dipped dramatically to just over 11-hundred,...which is only about 1 percent of last year's record.
With that, the industry is enduring an unprecedented crisis.
Travel agencies, including the country's two largest companies Hana Tour and Mode Tour, have shifted to 3-day working schedules or are encouraging workers to take paid leave.
"Tourism is a web of highly interconnected businesses, so even if the situation is safe here, if things are not the same elsewhere, we won't have travelers going overseas nor do we receive them."
With some 1-point-9 billion dollars of losses expected so far this year,... the culture ministry has injected emergency support to help the businesses.
"Up to April 20th, we helped 3-thousand-99 companies maintain their employees by providing 17-hundred dollars each for those who registered."
Now, with the upcoming holiday in May, the industry is faced with yet another dilemma.
Business is picking up in some of the most popular tourist hotspots in the country, like the southern island of Jeju and the eastern resort town of Gangneung, with hotels there seeing over 80 percent reservation rates.
But the return of visitors could mean hurting past efforts to contain the virus amid lingering fears about COVID-19.
Lee Kyung-eun, Arirang News.
South Korea's tourism industry has suffered losses amounting to some 1-point-9 billion dollars so far this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic,....with the nation's biggest airhub Incheon International Airport seeing a whopping 95 percent drop in traffic.
The industry is likely to rebound slightly considering the seeming stabilization of the virus in the country, but even that isn't particularly welcome news.
Lee Kyung-eun tells us more.
Insa-dong, located in Seoul's central Jongno-gu District used to be bustling with foreign travelers, wearing hanbok, South Korea's traditional attire.
However, given the specter of COVID-19, the streets are now eerily empty.
"Last year, we usually had up to 300 visitors a week, with 95 percent of them being foreigners.
These days, we see no foreigners and only about 10 locals."
Since April, the average number of daily entrants at Incheon International Airport is around 45-hundred,… down more than 95 percent on-year .
Outbound travelers have also dipped dramatically to just over 11-hundred,...which is only about 1 percent of last year's record.
With that, the industry is enduring an unprecedented crisis.
Travel agencies, including the country's two largest companies Hana Tour and Mode Tour, have shifted to 3-day working schedules or are encouraging workers to take paid leave.
"Tourism is a web of highly interconnected businesses, so even if the situation is safe here, if things are not the same elsewhere, we won't have travelers going overseas nor do we receive them."
With some 1-point-9 billion dollars of losses expected so far this year,... the culture ministry has injected emergency support to help the businesses.
"Up to April 20th, we helped 3-thousand-99 companies maintain their employees by providing 17-hundred dollars each for those who registered."
Now, with the upcoming holiday in May, the industry is faced with yet another dilemma.
Business is picking up in some of the most popular tourist hotspots in the country, like the southern island of Jeju and the eastern resort town of Gangneung, with hotels there seeing over 80 percent reservation rates.
But the return of visitors could mean hurting past efforts to contain the virus amid lingering fears about COVID-19.
Lee Kyung-eun, Arirang News.