The fact that 38 Vietnamese tourists traveling to Jeju did not board the plane to return home could tighten visa procedures, causing difficulties for both genuine tourists and travel companies.
Ms. Minh Nghi, living in Ho Chi Minh City, said she is planning to apply for a Korean visa for her family of 4 to travel during the Lunar New Year. Ms. Nghi’s family members all have blank passports and have never been abroad. She is worried that after the incident of 38 “missing” guests in Jeju, applying for a Korean visa on her own will be difficult. Ms. Nghi’s family has not yet finalized the purchase of plane tickets because they are worried that the visa will not be approved.
“Maybe we will buy a tour or do a visa translation service for about 2.5 million VND per document. If not, we will change direction to Thailand or Singapore,” Ms. Nghi said.
Tourists check in at Busan airport to go to Jeju, photo taken on November 14. Image: Vietnamese Travel
South Korea’s Jeju Island Tourism Management Authority said on December 3 that 38 out of 90 Vietnamese tourists arriving on the island on a charter flight on November 14 suddenly cut off contact and disappeared at the last attraction. scheduled for November 17.
This group of tourists came to Jeju from Nha Trang, under the visa exemption program, part of the island’s local tourism development policy. Foreigners from 64 countries, including Vietnam, can stay in Jeju Island for up to 30 days without a visa. Jeju Immigration Department is extracting images from security cameras to search for the group of tourists. These people will be considered illegal residents after December 14, when the 30-day visa-free stay period ends.
Travel companies are worried that Korea will tighten visa approvals after this incident. General Director Nguyen Cong Hoan of Flamingo Redtours said the tour is being used by some bad people to escape to Korea and work illegally. This puts pressure on travel companies, forcing them to check customers’ personal information more closely, sometimes making them feel uncomfortable.
Mr. Pham Anh Vu, Deputy General Director of Vietnam Tourism, said that the reputation of travel companies is affected when local partners may doubt their ability to manage customers. Although there has been no official announcement, Mr. Vu said the possibility of re-applying visa requirements to Jeju for Vietnamese tourists is possible.
According to a representative of a large travel agency in Ho Chi Minh City, the company with customers fleeing to Korea may be listed as not being granted visa application limits and quotas; Guests submitted from this travel company are not approved within a certain time. The tour guide in charge of the group will most likely no longer have the opportunity to return to Korea, and will constantly have to present himself to the investigation agency, affecting his work and income.
“Korea is the top tourist destination for Vietnamese tourists, but visa procedures are increasingly difficult, even as difficult as getting a visa to Japan,” this person said.
After this incident, travel companies are taking stricter measures to avoid similar situations. Deputy Director Luu Thi Thu of Hoang Viet Travel said the company continues to improve the capacity of the visa application review department, reviewing more carefully the approval criteria to ensure the rights of genuine tourists. main.
Meanwhile, the representative of Vietnam Tourism said there needs to be a clear mechanism and legal corridor for travel businesses to coordinate with authorities in updating information and checking guests’ travel history. Businesses also need to improve the quality of employee training, helping to early identify signs of risk from customer profiles.
In addition to the incident of 38 Vietnamese tourists losing contact in Jeju, Korea is also experiencing tourism impacts after the Korean President’s decision to declare martial law on the evening of December 3 and lift it a few hours later. According to Mr. Vu, these events cause security concerns, making tourists hesitant when choosing to travel to Korea, thereby reducing tourism demand and affecting the revenue of travel companies.