Businesses in the lodging and food sectors that fail to adhere to posted prices can face immediate suspension of operations from the first offense. Taxi drivers found overcharging tourists will have their licenses suspended right away. As the Chuseok holiday and fall travel season approach, the government is intensifying its crackdown on overcharging in tourist areas.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization announced on September 22 that they conducted the second half of the 'Korean Tourism Fair Pricing and Courtesy Campaign' at Haeundae Market in Busan. The event involved participation from the Busan city government, the Haeundae Merchants Association, local tourism associations, and the lodging and food service industries.
This campaign is a continuation of the first half of the initiative that began in April in Myeongdong, Seoul. With an influx of tourists expected in Busan during the Chuseok holiday and the fall travel season, the campaign aims to promote compliance with pricing and the spread of courteous and clean service.
This time, the campaign includes legal penalties. Lodging and food businesses that do not post price lists or fail to comply with posted prices can face a five-day suspension from the first offense. Taxi drivers confirmed to have charged unfair prices will receive an immediate 30-day license suspension.
Related regulations have been implemented in phases by industry. The enforcement rules for public health management in the lodging sector took effect on July 14, while the enforcement decree for foreign tourist city lodging and hanok experience businesses began on August 4. The enforcement rules for food service under the Food Sanitation Act took effect on September 1, and the rules for the Taxi Development Act were implemented on September 4.
Efforts are also underway to improve systems to prevent unilateral cancellations and reselling of reservations by lodging businesses. These businesses will be required to set and report seasonal price ceilings and are prohibited from canceling confirmed reservations without just cause and then reselling them. Revisions to the Tourism Promotion Act, Public Health Management Act, and the Rural-Urban Exchange Act are being pursued.
A unified reporting channel for complaints from foreign tourists has also been established through the tourism information hotline '1330.' This measure aims to respond quickly to price-related complaints arising during travel, including lodging, food, and taxi services.
Monitoring of tourist evaluations of prices and services continues. Since the end of April, the public participation tourism service monitoring program has received 12,806 reports by the end of August. This program checks compliance with pricing, courtesy, and cleanliness standards in the tourism sector.
Reported issues have been forwarded to local governments for improvement requests. A total of 296 businesses that received scores of 4 or higher out of 5 in cleanliness, courtesy, and price compliance have been introduced through the 'K-Tourism Safety Map.'
A separate in-depth inspection team, the 'Nurisalpingdan,' conducted inspections at 230 locations, including 32 tourist sites, 16 traditional markets, 96 restaurants, and 86 lodging establishments in June and August. Promotion of the fair pricing and courtesy campaign targeting lodging and food businesses has also been conducted at 1,433 locations nationwide through August.
At Haeundae Market, the results of the monitoring and best practices were shared with the local tourism industry. Informational materials promoting fair pricing and courtesy were distributed to merchants and visitors, and merchants were urged to comply with pricing and provide courteous customer service.
“The eradication of overcharging and courtesy requires voluntary participation and action from both the tourism industry and the public to lead to tangible changes on the ground,” said Kang Jeong-won, Director of the Tourism Policy Office at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. “We will strengthen local campaign activities to establish a culture of fair pricing and courtesy, creating a trustworthy tourism environment for visitors.”
* This article has been translated by AI.
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