Tourists wearing traditional Korean attire, or “hanbok,” pass by a group protesting against tourist visits to Bukchon Hanok Village in central Seoul. The residents from the traditional village argue that an overwhelming number of visitors disrupts their lives and leaves tons of trash in the neighborhood. (image: Yonhap)
SEOUL, Aug. 21 (Korea Bizwire) — A recently launched tourism organization said Tuesday it will put efforts to resolve recent conflicts arising from overtourism in Seoul’s popular tourist destinations.
The Seoul Tourism Organization set sail in May to lead medium to long-term tourism development of the capital city, it said.
“We have been in talks with the city government over ways to address the overtourism issue, including a possible time limit on visits,” its chief Rhee Jae-sung said during a press conference in Seoul.
Rhee said the organization will play a role as a platform where various stakeholders — including tourists, residents, the industry and local governments — can communicate.
The number of visitors to Seoul more than doubled from 4.7 million in 2007 to surpass the 10 million mark in 2014. The tally came to 13.4 million in 2016, according to the organization.
The organization also said it will work on ways to include Seoul citizens and Koreans from other regions as their key target to boost tourism in the city amid a plunge in the number of foreign visitors.
A total of 13.3 million foreigners visited South Korea in 2017, down 22.7 percent from a year earlier in the wake of a diplomatic row between Seoul and Beijing over the deployment of a U.S. anti-missile system, according to government data.
(Yonhap)
