A British tourist stated, “I was trying on clothes to rent at a Hanbok rental shop, but when the Hanbok didn’t fit, and I had to change sizes several times, an employee called me fat in Korean, which hurt my feelings.”
A survey reveals that the number one inconvenience faced by foreign tourists visiting Korea is shopping-related.
The 2023 Tourist Complaint Analysis Report, published by the Korea Tourism Organization on May 5th, analyzes complaints received at the Tourism Complaints Center. Last year, 902 complaints were reported, a 213% increase from 2022.
The analysis includes complaints received at the Tourism Complaints Center via the website, email, and phone calls.
The Korea Tourism Organization explained in the report, “Although the number of complaints received decreased significantly due to the impact of COVID-19 from 2020 to 2022, the number of complaints received increased significantly as the tourism industry recovered with the transition to an endemic phase last year.”
Of the 902 cases, 94 complaints were filed by Koreans, accounting for 10.4%, and 808 were filed by foreigners, accounting for 89.6%.
Shopping-related complaints account for 23.8%, followed by taxis and accommodations.
Regarding the type, shopping-related complaints were the highest at 215 cases, accounting for 23.8% of the total, followed by taxis (170 cases at 18.8%) and accommodations (142 cases at 15.7%).
The most common shopping-related complaints were price disputes at 27.9%, VAT refunds at 24.7%, and refund and product exchange requests at 13.0%.
Among the taxi-related complaints, 66.5% reported experiences of unfair charges and refusal to use the meter, followed by driver rudeness (14.1%) and aggressive driving (7.1%).
Among accommodation-related complaints, 31.7% reported poor facilities and hygiene management.
Other complaints included poor service (25.4%), cancellation and penalty fees (19.7%), non-compliance with reservation conditions and false advertising (5.6%).
While foreigners filed most shopping and taxi complaints, 44.7% of accommodation-related complaints were filed by Koreans, making it the highest complaint among Koreans.
Geographically, 54.8% were in Seoul, 13.4% in Busan, 12.1% in Incheon, and 4.9% in Jeju.
Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and Korea Tourism Organization to strengthen inspections.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization are implementing various improvement activities, such as engaging with local governments, to resolve these tourist complaints.
They are also intensifying inspections against overcharging at significant tourist spots in Seoul and during cultural and tourism festivals.
In addition, the Ministry plans to inspect the overall acceptance posture of tourism services four times from June to October through the Tourism Service Mutual Support Group, which involves 100 citizens.
An official from the travel industry said, “As the number of foreign tourists visiting Korea is recovering, the tourism threshold is lowering not only in metropolitan areas such as Seoul and Incheon but also in other regions,” and added, “Efforts from both the public and private sectors are needed to eradicate overcharging. These efforts should aim to provide reasonable prices and services.”
