The Korea Tourism Organization, the Gangwon Tourism Foundation and the Gangneung Destination Management Organization have joined forces to establish Gangneung as an international tourist city free of price gouging.
The Gangwon Tourism Foundation announced Wednesday that it will run a fair-price campaign in Gangneung from September through October.
The two-month campaign aims to prevent unfair practices such as overcharging that can recur across tourist areas, and to boost visitor confidence through locally driven, voluntary improvements in tourism quality.
Gangneung's reputation took a hit during the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics when the accommodation sector drew nationwide criticism for price gouging, even as market vendors had shown a welcoming, fair-dealing face by running a courtesy and fair-price campaign with the Korea Visitors Year Committee Foundation.
The initiative is structured as a public-private partnership involving related agencies, the local tourism industry and residents, with the goal of building a self-regulating ecosystem for Gangneung's tourism sector.
The foundation and the Gangneung DMO will recruit accommodation, food and beverage and other tourism-related businesses in Gangneung to pledge fair pricing, and will work with local merchants to spread a culture of price compliance. Participating businesses will receive added exposure, with their listings appearing on the foundation's public transit information platform for Gangneung to draw more tourist traffic.
The foundation expects the campaign to head off visitor complaints over unfair charges and to further strengthen Gangneung's brand image as a city tourists want to return to.
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