Members of a Chinese tour group arranged by the Korea Tourism Organization to mark the 31st anniversary of diplomatic ties between Korea and China on Aug. 24 receive a warm welcome upon arrival at Terminal 1 of Incheon International Airport. (Yonhap News)

By Wu Jinhua

To attract more Chinese tourists, the government will temporarily lift visa processing fees for those on group tours and grant immediate value-added tax (VAT) refunds.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on Sept. 4 in its 20th emergency meeting of economy-related ministers and on policy toward exports and investment announced a pan-government plan to attract Chinese tourists.

First, the processing fees for electronic visas for Chinese on group tours will be exempted through Dec. 31.

In addition, another 250,000 stores will accept mobile payment devices commonly used by Chinese tourists like WeChat Pay and Alipay to boost their consumption. Immediate VAT refunds will start next month, with another 200 establishments such as those of the beauty sector and pharmacies located around leading tourist attractions to do so.

Chinese tourists can also enter a Korean culture "bucket list challenge" when purchasing airline tickets. Ten thousand winners will be randomly selected for the chance to participate in esports with programmers, "sentimental" picnics by the Hangang River and cheering at pro baseball games.

The K-Tourism Roadshow from Sept. 29 to Oct. 6 will be held for the upcoming Chinese National Holiday period. The first is slated for Beijing on Sept. 13 and the second in Shanghai from Sept. 15-17, with the event to be expanded to five Chinese cities next year.

The ministry said 224,000 Chinese tourists visited in July to lead all nationalities and continued their steady increase last month.

"The wholesome and vigorous consumption of Chinese tourists in the country can be a strong stimulus to revive the domestic economy," Second Vice Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Jang Miran said. "Through the appeal of the globally growing K-Culture, we will fully upgrade K-Tourism for Chinese and establish order on the tourism market."

jane0614@korea.kr