Tourism Industry: "After Boasting About Financial Support, Focused on Loans... Guarantee Our Right to Survival First"

Last Year's Damage Amount 14 Trillion Won, Travel Industry 6 Trillion Won
Number of Visitors to Korea Decreased by 82%
Unable to Sustain Temporary Closures, Facing Chain Bankruptcy Crisis

On the 25th, officials affiliated with Uri Travel Cooperative held a press conference in front of the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, urging for operational fund support to guarantee the survival rights of the travel industry.

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] "How is the government's financial support any different from usury? They are only coming up with support measures that are completely detached from reality." (An official from a major domestic travel agency)

Although the government has expanded the related budget and introduced various support projects this year to help the tourism industry struggling due to COVID-19, voices are emerging that these measures lack practicality.

Recently, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced that it will provide financial support worth 694 billion KRW to tourism companies this year through the Tourism Fund. Of this, 594 billion KRW will be provided as new loans, and the remainder will be used to extend the principal repayment deadlines this year. In particular, 70% (420 billion KRW) of the new loan budget will be supplied in the first half of this year to ensure that money circulates quickly in the market.

Separately, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization have also allocated a tourism enterprise support budget of 79.3 billion KRW, a 40.6% increase compared to the previous year. This fund is mainly provided to small and venture tourism companies. Support is given through measures such as providing office space at the Tourism Enterprise Support Center, offering legal, patent, and financial consultations, and fostering crowdfunding.

Regarding these support measures, major travel agencies seem more disappointed than hopeful. An official from Travel Agency A, who requested anonymity, pointed out, "Most of the support is biased toward loans that have to be repaid anyway," adding, "The biggest issue is how to prevent employees from leaving, but there is no support plan addressing this at all." An official from Travel Agency B also said, "Large agencies with a high proportion of overseas travel have long been labeled by the government as the main cause of travel balance deficits," and "No good policies will come out for us."

The response from small travel agencies is not much different. An official from a domestic travel agency said, "Government support projects require many documents and generally do not allow duplicate applications, making it difficult to receive benefits," and criticized, "Many programs remain unchanged from the past, simply increasing the budget without reflecting the rapidly changing market situation due to COVID-19." A representative of a small travel agency sighed, "Apart from the nationwide support funds distributed before last year's general election, I have not received a single penny from the government," adding, "I recently started working part-time in delivery because I cannot afford the costs of maintaining closure."

As the COVID-19 crisis prolongs, the travel industry is truly on the brink of mass bankruptcy. According to data recently released by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the damage to the tourism industry due to COVID-19 last year amounted to 14.1 trillion KRW. Of this, the travel industry suffered damage worth 6.4 trillion KRW, accounting for nearly half. The number of inbound tourists from January to September last year was 2.33 million, a sharp 82% decrease compared to the same period the previous year, highlighting the bleak situation.

As the government's support and the travel agencies' demands continue to be out of sync, the industry is taking collective action. The Uri Travel Cooperative, composed of small travel agencies, held a protest in front of the National Assembly on the 25th, calling for measures including ▲reduction of the 14-day self-quarantine period and compensation for losses ▲implementation of travel bubbles with countries with excellent quarantine systems ▲expansion of unsecured credit loans ▲extension of special designation for travel industry employment support until the end of COVID-19 ▲implementation of tax payment deferrals and reductions ▲guaranteeing the livelihood of travel industry workers such as tour leaders and guides.

At the protest, Lee Sunhyang, CEO of Eoksen Travel Agency, appealed, "I have been in the travel industry for 25 years, but now I am making a living as a construction day laborer, and that job will end in March, leaving me with no means of livelihood," adding, "Small travel agency CEOs over 50 are even struggling in the job market."

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