Korea’s tourism industry has been brought to a grinding halt in the wake of the Sewol ferry incident.

With the cancellation or delay of local festivals, school trips and ferry tours, provincial governments and tour agencies are suffering unprecedented financial losses.

“April and May are the peak season for spring travel. But after the ferry sinking, almost all reservations have been canceled. Expected damage includes not being able to pay our monthly 50 million won auto loan for the 20 buses we have,” Park Yoon-ho, publicity director of Happy Limousine, told the Korea Herald. “We are also refunding deposits to our customers because they are not making cancellations for personal reasons but due to the tragic incident.”

By Park So-eun (spark@heraldcorp.com)