"Adjusted Social Distancing... Flexible Operation of Self-Quarantine Needed"

Citizens visiting the observation deck at Incheon International Airport are watching the aircraft stopped at the airport.
Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] "Please ease the 14-day self-quarantine measures for overseas arrivals and departures."

As the government has subdivided the social distancing guidelines from the existing 3 levels to 5 levels to respond more effectively to the COVID-19 pandemic, voices have begun to emerge from the travel industry, which is facing a crisis, calling for measures to resume overseas tourism, a major source of income. A representative claim is that the self-quarantine measures for arrivals and departures, which make travelers' movement virtually impossible, should be eased.

The Korea Association of Travel Agents recently issued a statement in the name of its chairpersons, saying, "Overseas countries have begun to ease self-quarantine measures for arrivals and departures," and appealed, "We cannot keep the doors closed forever. We ask the government to provide groundbreaking support so that the travel industry and their families, who are on the brink, can stand up again, and to prepare measures to ease the 14-day self-quarantine for overseas arrivals and departures."

For example, if a relatively stable situation is maintained under social distancing level 1, which is the standard for daily life quarantine, the current 14-day self-quarantine period could be flexibly shortened to about a week to ten days for a certain period. In fact, France reduced the self-quarantine period for contacts of confirmed COVID-19 patients from 14 days to 7 days last September, and countries like Switzerland and Norway have shorter self-quarantine periods of 10 days than Korea.

With the spread of COVID-19 leading countries to close their borders and suspend overseas travel, the domestic travel industry has lost its main source of income. Travel agencies have survived through paid and unpaid leave for their members and government employment retention subsidies, but as the situation prolongs, the number of closures is increasing. According to the Korea Tourism Association Central Council, as of the third quarter of this year, the number of travel agencies nationwide was 21,540, down by 1,069 compared to the same period last year. According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the sales loss in the travel industry due to COVID-19 reached 5 trillion won by the third quarter.

The Travel Association lamented, "Sales have been nonexistent for nine months, and we have sought survival day by day through all means such as leave and workforce reduction, but it is becoming impossible to endure any longer." Within the industry, there are also calls to consider a 'travel bubble' that shortens or exempts self-quarantine measures after travelers enter the country through mutual agreements with countries that have well-established quarantine systems.

However, it is not easy to accept the travel industry's demands as the number of new domestic COVID-19 cases has recently fluctuated around 100, and imported cases continue steadily at around 20 to 30. A government official emphasized, "We are not currently reviewing specific measures necessary to ease self-quarantine standards or resume overseas travel," adding, "This is an issue that requires sufficient discussion with quarantine authorities, considering the COVID-19 trends and overseas situations comprehensively."

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