Chinese Group Tourists Abandoned from Noon to Evening After Refusing Shopping... Korea Embarrassed by ‘Low-Quality Tours Focused Only on Headcount’

Drive for 30 Million Tourists Raises Concerns Over Quality Sacrifice

Losses from Bargain Tour Recruitment Offset with Shopping Commissions

More Incentives for Agencies, Yet Quality Control Remains Stagnant

Government Studies 'Two-Year

An incident in which a group of Chinese tourists were left unattended for several hours after refusing a shopping stop has once again brought attention to the chronic problem of "dumping tourism" in Korea's inbound tourism market. Despite the market still being rife with low-priced tour products that rely on shopping commissions under the guise of tourism, the government’s efforts have been focused on attracting more foreign visitors, while failing to achieve tangible results in market oversight and service quality improvement. In addition, the push to introduce a temporary qualification system to address the shortage of tour guides is intensifying calls for a fundamental overhaul of market order, prioritizing structural reform over simply increasing visitor numbers to enhance the competitiveness of the tourism industry.

Recently, a group of Chinese group tourists gathered in front of a cosmetics store in Seoul, and a police car was dispatched. They reportedly refused the scheduled shopping, and after the travel agency halted the itinerary, they remained on-site from noon until evening. Photo provided by a reader

Tourists Left Unattended After Refusing Shopping... Dumping Tourism Continues

Recently, a team of Chinese group tourists was left behind at a site from 1 p.m. until evening, excluded from the rest of the day’s itinerary. According to the travel industry on the 20th, the travel agency in charge of the group left the site after the tourists refused the scheduled shopping stop, cancelling the remainder of the itinerary. Eventually, police were dispatched to the scene, and the Chinese Embassy, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and Chinese tourism authorities began an investigation into the facts. The following day, the tourists' departure was handled by another inbound travel agency. The Korea Association of Travel Agents (KATA) explained, "This was an incident in which an entire group of tourists was left on-site simply because they did not shop."

The problem is that this incident cannot be seen as an isolated case of a few travel agencies. According to a survey conducted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government last year, 85 out of 100 Seoul tour packages sold on Chinese online platforms were classified as suspected dumping products. When officials directly purchased and examined seven tour packages for China and Vietnam, some included up to eight shopping center stops during a 5-day, 4-night itinerary. There were repeated cases of excessive inducement to shop, including not allowing tourists to leave stores until they made a purchase or guides changing their attitude based on the tourists' shopping performance.

Dumping tourism refers to a structure in which tour operators sell low-priced products that cannot cover accommodation, transportation, or meal costs with their sales price alone, and compensate for losses through shopping commissions and optional tour fees. There is also a notable number of so-called "negative tours," where domestic land operators pay group recruitment fees instead of receiving ground arrangement fees from overseas agencies or even offer incentives to attract tourists.

Korean travel agencies include visits to health food stores, cosmetic shops, and duty-free stores in their itineraries and receive a certain percentage of tourist purchases as a commission. Sanghyun Park, professor at Hanyang Cyber University, explained, "Tour prices are cut so low that they result in a financial loss, with agencies then inducing tourist spending and typically receiving a 10–20% cut of sales from partner shops as commission."

In such a structure, the lower the tour product price, the higher the amount tourists are expected to spend on shopping. When shopping performance falls short, it is the travel agency and the guide who bear the financial losses; as a result, sightseeing is reduced while shopping time increases. Guides are required to act more as sales representatives than as storytellers of history and culture, and unqualified individuals may lead tours while qualified guides remain on the bus only for compliance checks—a workaround known as a "sitting guide," which has emerged as part of broader cost-cutting schemes.

Myeongdong Street in Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

More Visitors, But Lax Market Oversight

The government is aware of the problem. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has defined zero-fee tour packages, forced shopping, and non-payment to licensed guides as unfair practices, pledging to monitor agencies’ dependence on shopping commissions and impose sanctions. Still, the recurrence of incidents where tourists are abandoned after refusing to shop highlights the ongoing lack of enforcement capability to crack down on low-cost tour packages and expel problem operators from the market.

On the other hand, the government is expediting efforts to reach its target of 30 million foreign visitors, expanding overseas marketing and providing support for air travel and regional tourism. This year, a supplementary budget earmarked 28.1 billion won for foreign tourist recruitment marketing, and local governments are also providing various incentives to travel agencies based on their performance in attracting foreign group tourists. However, since even loss-making low-cost tour products contribute to inbound visitor and accommodation statistics, there is criticism that tourism policy is more focused on achieving targets for the number of tourists than on the quality of those tourists.

Meanwhile, to address the shortage of guides for major international events such as the World Youth Day and for certain language groups, the ministry is considering introducing a temporary qualification system that would allow people who have completed certain training to provide tour interpretation services for two years. The Tour Guide Interpreters Association argues that, rather than a shortage of personnel, it is low pay and the pressure for shopping performance under dumping tour structures driving qualified guides away—a root cause that must be addressed first. KATA, on the other hand, has suggested that there is indeed a shortage of qualified on-site guides for specific languages and peak seasons, proposing solutions such as role separation.

Outpatient visits increased, but spending per person declined

France Protects Professional Guides, Japan Relaxes Rules While Tightening Land Operator Oversight

Other countries have responded to guide shortages by relaxing regulations, but have simultaneously strengthened mechanisms for quality control. France distinguishes between general tour attendants and specialist guides for cultural heritage, requiring paid tours of museums and historical sites to be led only by qualified guides. Japan abolished the monopoly rule for interpretation guide work in 2018 and instead introduced a mandatory registration system for land operators and regular training for certified guides.

Experts stress that Korea should go beyond simply debating the introduction of temporary qualifications and instead design policies that include sub-cost contract oversight, service quality management, and a clear definition of responsibilities for those who complete training courses.

Last year, the number of foreign visitors to Korea reached an all-time high of 18.937 million, but per capita tourist spending was $1,155.80, which is below the 2019 level. In a recent study on urban tourism competitiveness, Chang Suchung, head of Yanolja Research, and Kyuwan Choi, professor at Kyung Hee University, concluded that quantitative indicators such as the number of visitors and tourism facilities alone are insufficient for assessing a city's true competitiveness. Chang said, "Just like people look for restaurants recommended by others for their good food, direct experience and recommendation are the most important factors for a competitive tourist city."

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