Payback Event on 'Half-Price Gift Certificates'... Seoul City Launches Effort to Revive Tourist Zones

Tourism District Recovery Project to Revitalize Stagnant Tourist Zones
Seoul Tourism District Exclusive Gift Certificates Sold at 50% Discount with 10,000 Won Payback Event

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Tourism Foundation are launching a ‘Tourism Special Zone Recovery Project’ to revitalize the stagnant tourism special zones through exclusive discount vouchers and SNS promotional marketing.

On the 13th, Seoul announced that it will issue tourism special zone exclusive vouchers for the first time to boost sales for small business owners. Starting from the 17th, the Seoul Tourism Special Zone Vouchers will be sold at a 50% discount and can be used at Zero Pay affiliated stores within five tourism special zones: Jongno Cheonggye, Myeongdong, Dongdaemun, Itaewon, and Jamsil.

The Seoul Tourism Special Zone Vouchers can be purchased at up to 50% off, with a maximum of 50,000 KRW per person (available in 10,000 KRW, 30,000 KRW, and 50,000 KRW denominations) through payment apps that support Zero Pay, such as PAYCO, T-money Pay, and Beeple Zero Pay. The purchased vouchers can be used until the end of November.

From June, a 10,000 KRW payback event for the Seoul Tourism Special Zone Vouchers will be held to encourage revisits to the tourism special zones. Consumers who spend 20,000 KRW or more using the Seoul Tourism Special Zone Vouchers at the tourism special zones will receive 10,000 KRW back in vouchers, limited to the first 5,000 participants.

A promotional video for the tourism special zones titled ‘PLAY WITH SEOUL,’ featuring singer Norazo and the boy group GHOST9, will be released on the 14th via YouTube channels I?SEOUL?U and VisitSeoul TV. This promotional video centers on ‘Seoul’ and showcases shopping, food, and fashion unique to each tourism special zone such as Myeongdong, Itaewon, and Dongdaemun.

‘PLAY WITH SEOUL’ is a music video-style promotional video for the Seoul tourism special zones, starring the male duo Norazo and the nine-member boy group GHOST9. It features a parody of Norazo’s hit song ‘Superman.’

Additionally, by the end of May, the YouTube channel ‘Misun:Impossible,’ operated by comedian Park Mi-sun, will introduce how to use the Seoul Tourism Special Zone Vouchers on-site in the Itaewon tourism special zone and provide an introduction to the local commercial districts. ‘Misun:Impossible’ is a YouTube channel where comedian Park Mi-sun interacts with fans and undertakes various missions, boasting approximately 460,000 subscribers.

Joo Yong-tae, Director of the Tourism and Sports Bureau, stated, “Most local commercial districts are struggling due to COVID-19, but the tourism special zones, which have lost foreign tourists, have been hit even harder. Through this Tourism Special Zone Recovery Project, we hope that citizens weary from COVID-19 can enjoy small moments of happiness, and small business owners within the zones can regain vitality after a long time.”

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