[photopress:hotels_and_tourism_Seoul_airport.jpg,full,alignright]This is the start of a flood of extra travel. As part of efforts to boost exchanges during the upcoming Beijing Olympics this summer, the Korean government has decided to enable visa-free travel between Korea and China.
The Justice Ministry said it would begin it on a trial basis from July to September this year, as it expects that there to be a significant increase in the number of Korean and Chinese tourists visiting each other’s countries. That it is a fair judgement.
Before the visa-free program, the ministry will also grant multiple visas from late March to frequent Chinese visitors, especially businessmen and their families.
It will also provide such visas for small-scale traders and residents of 30 advanced countries that belong to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Officials say the program is expected to expand later to include a wider range of beneficiaries.
Also as a response to complaints that visa-free entry procedures for Chinese student trips that were introduced last year are still inconvenient, the ministry will no longer require passport submission and English interviews for teachers, and educational groups will also no longer need to fill out a group tourist entry form.
The minimum number of people to qualify as a tourist group will be cut from five to three.
Officials say the measures are expected to attract more tourists and help boost the Korean economy.
Last year, about 920,000 Chinese visited Korea, accounting for only 2.7% of the total number of Chinese traveling overseas but
Visitors who are brave enough will be able to interact with one of the Dalek figures that roam the concourse,
Helpful, full of information and only used by people under the age of, say, 21. Older people give it a wide berth even though it is great technology.
Source: Korea.net