South Korean envoy holds meeting with tour operators

As part of efforts to bring back tourists to his country, Hong-yup Lee, Deputy Consul General of the Republic of Korea in Chennai, held a meeting with tour operators to understand the travel market.

“The purpose of the meeting is to get opinions from those in the travel industry. We want to get suggestions on what we can do after the COVID-19 situation improves,” Mr. Lee said. “Now is the time for both the Consulate as well as the travel agencies to start a joint campaign to explore tourism relations between Korea and south India,” he said.

Travel firms requested a waiver of visa fees and 50% discount in Korean hotels and resorts, among other things. There were also suggestions that the number of days one has to stay under quarantine, on arrival in Korea, be cut down.

Currently, people landing in Korea have to remain under mandatory quarantine for 14 days.

Last year, around 15,000 visas were issued by the Consulate.

Mr. Lee said that Korean families that left India, at the beginning of the pandemic, were now returning. “Over 1,500 people went back to Korea, and now they are all coming back. More than 500 of them have returned to India. For them, India is home,” he added.