South Korea cracks down on ‘garbage tours’

South Korea is taking action to combat the practice of “tourist dumping,” which involves inducing tourists to shop at specific locations, often at inflated prices.

The South Korean government has announced tough action against travel companies that lure tourists with cheap packages and then compensate for their losses by offering frequent purchases for which they charge a commission from sellers.

These types of travel packages are also sold via social media.

The tourism ministry also plans to meet with travel agencies next week to explain the new guidelines, review 215 agencies specializing in group tours in July and welcome new license applications in August. Companies that present innovative and ethical tour programs will receive additional points, the government said.

The problem with dumping trips

Dumping tours have long been a source of frustration for visitors to South Korea. These tours often lure tourists with attractive, inexpensive packages, only to compensate for the reduced prices by including numerous shopping stops. Tour companies earn commission from these stops, which often include duty-free shops and souvenir outlets.

Korean media reported that these guides often take tourists to stores to buy expensive products such as cosmetics, dietary supplements and other goods.

Some companies charge tourists extra for “optional tourist attractions” at places that are usually free to enter, undermining the promise of comprehensive tours that should include visiting the main tourist attractions.

These types of tours often involve unlicensed guides, called “tour guides,” who receive a commission from the shops instead of a regular salary.

Government response

In a groundbreaking move, the South Korean government suspended the operations of a travel agency for a month after a Chinese tourist reported to the Tourism Complaints Center that he was forced to make purchases during his trip.

This is the first time the government has suspended the operations of a travel agency due to this type of practice.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government has been vocal about the negative impact the cancellation of tours will have on the city’s reputation and how it could harm the tourism sector’s recovery from the pandemic.

Actions to curb these practices began in October last year with inspections of illegal tour guides and accommodation facilities, and in December a centre for reporting cases of illegal tourism was established.

The government also announced this year that it would target unlicensed tour guides, especially in popular districts such as Myeong-dong in central Seoul.

Focus on the Chinese market

South Korea is focusing mainly on one of its largest tourism markets: China. There are also plans to explore other countries.

An earlier study of nearly 3,100 Seoul travel packages sold on China’s four largest online platforms found that 85 of the 100 cheapest packages were likely promoting dumping trips.

Of those 85 trips, 45 included six to eight shopping trips over the course of a five-day trip, with package tour prices being less than the combined cost of flights and accommodation.

South Korea Tourism Numbers

South Korea saw a significant increase in tourism in 2023, with 11 million international visitors — a 241% increase from the previous year. This increase brought international arrivals to 63% of the pre-pandemic level of 17.5 million visitors recorded in 2019.

About 2.1 million of those tourists came from China, which had by then lifted its strict travel restrictions. While arrivals from Chinese were still 33% of 2019 levels, that was a significant improvement. More than 400,000 Chinese travelers visited Korea each month in 2019, peaking at 578,112 in August that year, according to data from the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO).

The importance of Chinese tourists to South Korea’s tourism sector is clear. In 2019, more than a third of all foreign visitors to Korea came from China. However, that figure fell to one in five from 2023 to March 2024.

But the number of Chinese visitors has been growing rapidly, up 470% from January to April this year compared with the same period in 2023, according to the Korea Times. About 10% of those travelers came as part of group tours.

Image Source: Travel agencies often include purchases in their travel plans and earn commission from vendors.