Seoul City Provides 5 Million KRW Cash Support to 685 Travel Agencies Affected by COVID-19

Second Application Round Greatly Eases Support Conditions Such as Sales and Business Duration... 315 Additional Companies Selected

On March 6th, the travel agency counters on the 3rd floor of Terminal 1 departure hall at Incheon International Airport were quiet. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] The Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Tourism Foundation are conducting a second round of applications for the 'Seoul-type Travel Industry Crisis Overcoming Project,' which was launched to support the travel industry severely impacted by the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), by significantly relaxing the application criteria.

On the 8th, Seoul announced that among the 935 project applicants received from the 1st to the 22nd of last month, 685 companies were selected as the first round of supported companies through the review of application documents and business plans, and for the first time nationwide, preliminary project funding support was initiated.

This project is an emergency support initiative for the travel industry hit hard by COVID-19, investing a total budget of 5 billion KRW to provide 5 million KRW each to 1,000 travel companies based in Seoul.

Choi Han-su, CEO of VIP Travel, who received the support funds for the first time, said, "In preparation for the recovery of the tourism market after COVID-19, we are producing an ad-free Seoul map for foreign tourists visiting Seoul and preparing online marketing to ensure Seoul tourism products and information are easily exposed locally in North America." He added, "We expect the support funds from the Seoul-type Travel Industry Crisis Overcoming Project to serve as a catalyst for revitalizing the travel industry."

Seoul is conducting the second round of recruitment by significantly relaxing application criteria such as sales and business experience. Online applications are being accepted until the 15th on the Seoul Tourism Foundation website (http://www.sto.or.kr), and after screening, 315 selected companies will be announced on the 27th.

The support targets companies whose average monthly sales in February to March of this year decreased compared to the average monthly sales of the previous year and who registered as travel businesses before January 1 of last year. Companies with a higher sales decline rate will be prioritized in the business plan review to finalize the supported companies.

For more details, please visit the Seoul Tourism Foundation website or contact the Seoul Tourism Foundation call center at 02-3788-8119 or promoteseoul@sto.or.kr.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.