South Korea to agree to online-permit free entry

Thursday, March 30, 2023

South Korea will for the time being excuse people from 22 visa-waiver countries from compulsory online travel permits along with the requirements of transit visa as part of initiations to draw greater number of international tourists and enhance domestic demand, on Wednesday, the Finance Ministry said this.

These are a set of steps targeted at drawing 10 million tourists from abroad in 2023.

It’s a goal that could help encourage private spending as well as refresh the financial system in the middle of the financial delay; a news agency quoted the Ministry as saying.

To South Korea, the number of international visitors in 2019 has hit a record high of 17.5 million.

It generated tourism revenue of $20.7 billion, as per the information amassed by the Korea Tourism Organization.

But due to the pandemic, the visitor numbers have declined in 2020 to 2.5 million and 967,000 in 2021, before it increased to 3.19 million last year.

People from 22 countries like Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, Macau, Hong Kong, the US, Canada and the UK, will enter South Korea by the end of 2024 without producing a permit through the K-ETA or Korea Electronic Travel Authorization, if they visit the country for sightseeing and attending events.

From 110 visa-waiver nations, the K-ETA is required for travellers and the 22 countries were selected as the entry rejection rates are quite low.

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