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South Korea plans ‘zero dollar’ tour crackdown
As inbound tourism from China starts to get back to normal, South Korea says it will crack down on notorious ‘zero-dollar’ group tours.
Following the gradual easing of an unofficial boycott over the THAAD anti-missile system aimed at North Korea, the number of Chinese tour groups visiting South Korea is on the rise.
The ministry of culture, sports and tourism says it is the perfect opportunity to ban the controversial shopping tours.
"We will run a better management system of package tour operators for Chinese tourists so that they offer better-quality tours," the ministry said.
All licensed tour operators permitted to run group tours from China will now have to renew their licenses every year and pass more stringent reviews.
There are 155 agencies approved by the ministry to conduct tours.
"We will value travel agencies that incorporate regional tourist spots into their tour program, have only one shopping slot per day, use four-star hotels or better, and hire qualified tour guides," a ministry official said.
"We will revoke the license of those who fill the schedule with too many shopping trips for commissions."
Agencies which get their license revoked will not be able to reapply for two years.
The infamous zero dollar tours are little more than multi-day shopping trips with a little sightseeing thrown in for good measure.
In the worst cases, tour groups were herded around stores and intimidated into buying overpriced products occasionally under the threat of violence.
Tour guides then pocketed big commissions from store owners.
Authorities in Thailand have already cracked down on the practice there.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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