Why are Thai tourists declining while foreign visitors to Korea are on the rise?

The Korea Tourism Organization recently released Korea Tourism Statistics. According to the statistics, the number of visitors to Korea in September was 1,464,300, up 33.4% from the same month last year, and 1,450,000 from the same month in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic.
By country, the number of visitors from Indonesia, China, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Japan increased compared to the same month last year, while the number of visitors from Thailand decreased by 17.6%.
South Korea was one of the top three most popular travel destinations for Thai people, but it has been declining recently. What is the reason? The number of foreign visitors to South Korea from January to September was 12.14 million, a 58.7% increase from the same period last year.
Compared to January to September 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of visitors has recovered to 94%. It can be said that the number has returned to the pre-COVID-19 level. The Korea Tourism Organization said, "In order to continue the positive trend of visiting Korea, we will continue to promote various marketing activities.
The Korean government aims to attract 30 million foreign tourists and generate 30 billion dollars in tourism revenue (approximately 4.6 trillion yen) by 2027.
The government is aiming to achieve a target of 37.16 billion yen. Tourism trends are changing from group to individual, and from shopping to cultural experiences, so promoting consumption has become a major issue.
The Korean government is working to improve the existing system, such as simplifying immigration procedures. In light of the increasing number of people traveling between Korea and Japan, the government is working to improve the system and to increase the number of tourists visiting both countries.
The government is considering introducing a "pre-clearance" system, in which immigration checks will be carried out in advance at the place of departure.
The government is also working to streamline tourism by promoting the development of new regional tourism products and the expansion of direct flights between regional airports and overseas cities.
As mentioned above, the number of foreign tourists visiting Korea in September increased by 33.4% compared to the same month last year.
China topped the list of visitors to Korea in the month with 423,000 people, followed by Japan (311,000), Taiwan (126,000), the United States (110,000), and Vietnam (45,000).
Compared to September 2019, the number of visitors from Japan increased by 23.7%, Taiwan by 22.7%, the United States by 20.8%, and Vietnam by 2.4%, while the number of Thai tourists increased to 10,880.
The number of visitors from Thailand was 68, a decrease of 47.6%. It was also a decrease of 20.3% compared to the same month last year. The decrease in visitors from Thailand is due to the implementation of the Electronic Travel Authorization System (KE
This is believed to have started with the introduction of the "K" visa application system, which allows travelers of nationalities exempt from visa requirements to enter the country by entering the country with necessary information online and receiving entry permission.
- ETA is mandatory. 22 countries and regions, including Japan, are exempt from the K-ETA, but it is mandatory for visitors from Thailand to Korea. After the system was introduced, Thai nationals will be clearly identified at immigration.
There have been a series of cases where people have been denied entry without any criteria. Illegal residence of Thai people has become a problem in Korea, and it is believed that the entry restrictions have been tightened as a result.
There were many cases of people being denied entry into Thailand, and anti-Korean sentiment grew in Thailand. The hashtag "Ban Korea" became popular on social media.
Rep. Kang Yoo-jung of the Democratic Party of Korea, the largest opposition party in South Korea, received a notice from the Korea Tourism Organization stating, "Annual group tour cancellations since the implementation of the K-ETA"
According to the Korea Travel Situation report, at least 91 groups, totaling 9,947 people, in Thailand last year abandoned their plans to travel to Korea.
"Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Korea was one of the top three most popular travel destinations in Thailand, but that time is over now," he said. In fact, before the COVID-19 pandemic, Thailand was the number one Southeast Asian country in terms of the number of tourists visiting Korea.
But now it has dropped to sixth place, behind Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Ministry) aims to attract Thai tourists.
The ministry has requested the Ministry of Justice to grant a partial exemption from the K-ETA until the end of this year, but the request was not accepted. The ministry has said that the exemption is a necessary measure to prevent illegal stays and is not discriminatory against Thais.
Thais are avoiding South Korea, where entry restrictions are strict, and heading to other destinations such as Japan. The chairman of the Thai Travel Agents Association said, "South Korea has lost the trust of Thai tourists.
It will take at least another year or two to get it back."