The South Korean government has just launched a new visa program for Southeast Asian countries, including a decision to exempt tourists from these countries when arriving at regional airports. Specifically, tourists will be exempted from visa when transiting for up to 72 hours at local airports in this country. The decision will be applied from January 2020.
As part of the country's tourism promotion strategy, the South Korean government is also planning to sign a pact with ASEAN to allow young people from the region to participate in sightseeing tours and language studies in Korea for a period of one year.
In addition, the Korean Government is also considering extending the visa exemption period - currently only 5 days - for group tourists from Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia when they visit Jeju Island.
The South Korean government is considering extending visa exemptions on Jeju Island for Vietnamese citizens.
The tourism promotion changes come as the number of international visitors to South Korea hit a record high this year at an estimated 17.4 million, up 13% from 2018. The government hopes the influx of international visitors could shift to smaller cities and counties.
Through these measures, the Korean government hopes to usher in a new era - welcoming 20 million foreign visitors and 380 million domestic trips with spending of about 120 trillion won (equivalent to 101 billion USD).
