The number of Thai tourists visiting South Korea sharply declined this year, raising concerns about another “Boycott Korea” movement in Thailand.
“South Korea was one of the top three popular destinations among Thais before online campaigns boycotting travel to Korea emerged, but those days are over,” said Charoen Wangananont, president of the Thai Travel Agents Association (TTAA), reported the Bangkok Post on June 20.
Thai tourists are turning to other destinations and shunning Korea amid reports that Thais have been denied entry at the border. Korea requires electronic travel authorization (K-ETA) from tourists and has strict entry regulations. Vietnam and China, which are more affordable, offer visa-free entry and do not deport tourists, have overtaken South Korea in popularity.
“It will take at least a year or two for South Korea to regain the confidence of Thai tourists,” said Charoen, suggesting that Thai and Korean travel agencies should work together to improve sentiment and introduce new tourist attractions.
From January through April this year, 119,000 Thai tourists visited South Korea, down 21.1% from the same period last year. Before the pandemic, Thailand was one of the top Southeast Asian nations for tourists visiting South Korea, but it has now fallen to third place, behind Vietnam and the Philippines.
The decline in Thai tourists is attributed to the online “Boycott Korea” movement that erupted late last year after Thai tourists were denied entry to South Korea. This led to anti-Korean sentiment, with the hashtag “ban Korea travel” trending on social media. The situation escalated to the point where the Thai Prime Minister had to step in to appease the public.
The controversy recently resurfaced after local media reported on the sharp decline in Thai tourists visiting South Korea. Thai media highlighted the K-ETA issue, and the “ban Korea travel” hashtag reappeared on social media. Although Thailand and South Korea have a visa agreement that allows Thais to apply for K-ETA online, many Thai tourists have been denied entry even after receiving authorization, leading to growing frustration among Thai tourists.
However, South Korea’s Ministry of Justice said the government plans to apply a stricter screening process to prevent illegal immigration. The number of illegal Thai immigrants in South Korea has nearly tripled from 52,000 in 2015 to 157,000 in September last year, underscoring the challenges in managing this issue.