Seollal: Is S. Korea the best country to visit during Lunar New Year?

Описание: 설연휴 동안 국내관광 활성화로 기대되는 경제효과는?

As we celebrate Seollal here in Korea.
The country is gearing up to use this holiday as an opportunity to boost tourism across the country.
Our economics correspondent Lee Soo-jin tells us how.

Seoul is emerging as one of the best cities to visit in the world.
The capital city of South Korea was ranked the third most popular city to visit during the Lunar New Year period, according to one online travel booking platform.

"This comes as the South Korean government moves to boost domestic tourism in a bid to stimulate the economies of both the country as a whole as well as local communities."

As part of its livelihood stability measures for Seollal, the government announced that it would provide incentives for foreign tourists, including an up to 20 percent discount for tourists from China, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia who pay using mobile payments such as Alipay or WeChat Pay at stores that take ZeroPay, South Korea’s QR-code payment service.

Stores like this one in Myeongdong, one of the country's most popular shopping streets, are also frequented by tourists because they can purchase anything from cosmetics to food at a single location.
These tourists from Malaysia who arrived just before Seollal said that they're spending the majority of their time in Korea shopping.

"We celebrate the Chinese New Year in Malaysia (we bought) skincare, foods, and souvenirs mostly but we spend more on food over here it's most convenient using a QR code payment."

Another place that is seeing a surge in tourists is this bustling traditional market in the heart of Seoul.
The seats at the market's food stalls were all filled well past peak lunch hours with visitors from all over the world.

"We had some of the best meals in our entire two-week trip at these markets it's been great seeing how the town's lightened up."

There are also measures aimed at boosting tourism across the rest of the country.
Starting Wednesday, the government is issuing a total of 200-thousand discount coupons for accommodation located outside of the greater Seoul Metropolitan Area.

"It is expected that we will have more than 85-thousand Chinese visitors over the Seollal holidays. It would be great if we can have tax deductions on the purchases of durable goods along with supports on tourism."

With South Korea's economy expected to see a slow recovery this year, the expert said that tourism will be the most efficient way to drive up domestic consumption.
Lee Soo-jin, Arirang News.

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2024-02-09, 12:00 (KST)