With the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Korea Tourism Organization and industry associations spanning travel, aviation, accommodation, transportation and theme parks all working in concert to drive record-breaking tourism numbers, the Korea Tourism Association Central Chapter held a joint declaration of its "Five Travel Pledges for Korea" at its Insadong office in Seoul on Thursday, followed by a street campaign under the banner "Korea: A Country You'll Want to Visit Again" in the surrounding Insadong area.
The campaign aims to demonstrate a strong commitment to the five travel pledges at the front lines of tourism — where visitors interact most directly with the industry — while encouraging voluntary participation across the tourism sector and building trust among travelers.
The event brought together the Korea Tourism Association Central Chapter alongside regional tourism associations from across the country and sector-specific tourism associations and committees, all reaffirming their resolve to raise the quality of tourism services and foster a travel culture built on trust.
The five pledges cover the core commitments the tourism industry has agreed to uphold together: fair pricing, courteous service, accurate tourism information, a safe travel environment and promoting the attractions of every corner of Korea.
"A Korea that people want to return to starts with small acts of commitment on the ground," said Lee Gyeong-su, chairman of the association. "The tourism industry will put these five pledges into practice together to build an even more trustworthy travel environment."
Earlier, individual local governments and civic groups in Donghae, Gangwon Province, and other cities had already been running their own versions of the "Visit [City/County] Again" campaign in various forms.
The Donghae YWCA recently took 500 self-produced flyers to shops along the stretch from Mukho Station to Mangsan, promoting a movement centered on courtesy, cleanliness and honest pricing. Donghae city responded to the civic effort by joining forces with market vendors and city officials on Wednesday to run a summer resort price-stabilization campaign at Mangsan, Eodal and Daejin beaches.
At the scene, organizers promoted the elimination of price gouging, compliance with price-labeling requirements, adherence to menu prices, courteous and clean service, and greater use of businesses recognized for fair pricing. They also conducted guidance activities at major accommodation and dining establishments, checking whether price-labeling and country-of-origin disclosure rules were being followed.
Donghae plans to operate a price-gouging reporting center through Aug. 31 and to continuously monitor price trends at major tourist sites and commercial districts through a consumer price monitoring team, as part of its broader effort to create a tourism environment where visitors can feel at ease.
abc@heraldcorp.com
