Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok visited the Gangjeong Cruise Port in Seogwipo, Jeju on July 17 to review progress of implementing the support measures for inbound tourism announced in June and listen to the on-site opinions.

DPM Choi visited the Gangjeong Cruise Port, which has attested to the recent recovery trend in inbound tourism, and inspect the current state of cruise tourism and immigration procedures. Aiming to strengthen the ongoing recovery in inbound tourism following COVID-19, the government announced the “Strategies to Boost Inbound Tourism” on June 17. Under the initiative, the government is committed to enhancing foreign tourists’ convenience by expanding the scope of group tourists eligible for Korea Electronic Travel Authorization (K-ETA) batch applications and introducing short-term public transportation passes in major cities across the country.

Cruise tourism has recently experienced rapid growth, with 310,000 visitors to Korea from January to May this year, surpassing the annual number of cruise tourists in 2019 (170,000) and 2021 (210,000). In particular, Gangjeong Port has emerged as a central hub for cruise tourism, with approximately 200,000 visitors, accounting for 64.5% of the total cruise tourists from January to May.

However, the Gangjeong Cruise Port, which primarily accommodates large cruise ships, currently requires an average of 3 to 4 hours for immigration inspection procedures when thousands of passengers disembark simultaneously. With the docking time being 8 hours, tourists only have about 4 to 5 hours to spend ashore. In response, DPM Choi pledged that the government will actively support the installation of unmanned automated immigration inspection kiosks at the port starting next year to reduce processing times. He added that this measure is expected to increase the time cruise tourists can spend ashore and contribute to revitalizing the local economy by boosting inbound tourism.

Please refer to the attached files.