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By APD writer Alice
From 2020, foreigners will be allowed to make a transit at airports in South Korea within 72 hours without a visa.
The expansion of a visa-free stay program is one of the four major policy measures announced by the South Korean government on December 12 to boost tourism in the country’s localities.
The visa-free program is currently available for foreigners who transfer through Incheon International Airport.
The other measures include a new visa program with Southeast Asian countries. South Korea plans to sign a treaty with ASEAN to allow young people from the region to enjoy regional tours and language studies while staying in South Korea up to one year.
The government will also open new flight routes linking South Korea's regional airports to countries like Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia.
The measures were discussed in a government meeting on strategies to promote regional tourism chaired by Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon in the southern city of Cheongju.
With these measures, South Korea aims to host 20 million foreign tourists and serve 380 million domestic travellers, with tourist spending reaching 120,000 billion won (101.1 billion USD).
The number of foreign visitors to South Korea is estimated to reach 17.4 million in 2019, up from 15.4 million from last year.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
