"Preventing Unilateral Cancellations"... Discussing Stronger Penalties for Accommodation Providers

Ministry Discusses Measures Against Accommodation Price Violations and Unilateral Reservation Cancellations
Safe Price Assurance System, Verification of Business Registration Emerge as Key Issues
Direction of Tourism Promotion Act Amendments Shared

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will meet with domestic online travel agencies to discuss issues related to travel services, such as excessive accommodation charges and unilateral reservation cancellations.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will meet with domestic online travel agencies to discuss current issues in travel services, such as excessive accommodation charges and unilateral reservation cancellations. This photo is unrelated to the article content.

The Ministry announced that at 2:00 p.m. on June 18, it will hold a "Meeting to Strengthen the Competitiveness of the Domestic Travel Industry" at the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History. Key participants include representatives from major online travel agencies such as Nol Universe, MyRealTrip, Yanolja Company, Tripbtoz, ThankYouCamping, and CampFit.

During the meeting, the Ministry will share the current status of proposed amendments to laws aimed at eradicating the recent controversy surrounding excessive charges. The Ministry is working to introduce the "Safe Price Assurance System" to promote reasonable pricing and greater transparency. It will also explain the direction of amendments to the Tourism Promotion Act, which will include new penalty provisions for unilateral reservation cancellations without just cause.

Measures to strengthen penalties for non-disclosure of accommodation prices or failure to comply with displayed prices will also be discussed. The Ministry will update the industry on the ongoing process of amending enforcement decrees, which would introduce more effective legal sanctions such as "immediate business suspension" when violations are detected.

To reduce consumer harm caused by unilateral reservation cancellations and price hikes, the Ministry plans to request that the online travel industry develop its own countermeasures. There will also be discussions on requiring verification of registration certificates at the platform registration stage to prevent the sale of products by unregistered tourism operators, such as campgrounds.

An official from the Ministry stated, "The role of domestic online travel agencies is extremely important as digital transformation accelerates in the tourism industry," adding, "We will review industry feedback and concerns to reflect them in effective support policies, and work to create a fair environment for travel where consumers can use services with peace of mind."

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