Crowds of tourists frolic along the streets of Myeongdong in Jung district, Seoul, May 1. Yonhap

The government on Monday unveiled a series of measures aimed at boosting the nation's tourism sector amid signs of a robust recovery in the post-pandemic era.

The measures, announced during a meeting of economic affairs ministers, including the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, focus on streamlining entry procedures and enhancing the overall travel experience for international visitors.

Foreign arrivals in Korea have surged from a pandemic low of 970,000 in 2021 to 11 million in 2023.

However, despite this increase, tourism revenue has not yet rebounded to pre-pandemic levels of $20.7 billion in 2019. Officials see this lag as primarily due to a shift from group tours to individual travel and a greater emphasis on cultural experiences rather than shopping.

To maintain this recovery trend, the government plans to cut down visa issuance times for countries with a rising demand for travel to Korea by adding staff and increasing the number of visa application centers.

Electronic travel authorization for group tourists and automated passport reading technologies will be introduced to streamline entry.

A K-Culture Training Visa will be launched on a trial basis within the year to attract individuals interested in cultural and entertainment training in Korea.

The government will also consider introducing a new region-specific visa for digital nomads, enabling them to live and work in Korea while exploring its cultural and tourism scenes.

In an effort to extend the stay of cruise ship tourists, self-service immigration checkpoints will be installed, and the operating hours of cruise passenger terminals will be extended.

Additionally, the government plans to increase direct flights between Korean regional airports and international cities. New routes will be launched in the second half of this year, connecting Busan to Jakarta and Cheongju to Bali, with increased flight frequencies from Daegu to Ulaanbaatar.

To further facilitate convenient travel, Korea is expanding its luggage delivery service from KTX bullet train stations to hotels. The service will soon become available at 16 locations nationwide, up from the current nine. The Easy Drop service, which allows tourists to check their luggage outside the airport before departure, will be broadened.

In a move to make local dining and tourist spots more accessible, the government will provide translations of user reviews into English and Chinese on local map applications and introduce a short-term mass transit pass for foreign tourists to use at reasonable prices in major cities.

Also included in the government plan were the provision of more unconventional tourist programs for foreign travelers, the enhancement of shopping conveniences and the improvement of the overall infrastructure of the tourism industry. (Yonhap)