Seoul Investigates 'Forced Shopping' in Low-Cost Tourist Packages
Seoul's investigation into low-cost tourism packages sold in China and Vietnam revealed a focus on shopping, with tourists pressured to buy items. Severe discrepancies in cultural tours were noted, prompting Seoul to crack down on these low-quality packages with potential legal actions.
Seoul's city government conducted an investigation into several low-cost tourist packages sold in China and Vietnam, revealing an overwhelming emphasis on shopping over tourist activities.
Foreign nationals posing as tourists found that each package included four to eight visits to local shopping malls, with unclear product origin labels.
Tourists reported being treated differently based on their shopping expenditures and faced pressure to make purchases, including being prevented from leaving a mall for 40 minutes.
Tour guides often canceled or provided no alternatives for cultural tours.
In light of these findings, Seoul plans to crack down on such packages, with potential legal action and cooperation from the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, while noting that not all packages are of this low quality.