Chinese tourists stranded in Jeju Island
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E-mail CRI, October 8, 2016
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Chinese tourists are stranded in small rooms with nothing but plastic flooring and electrical outlets in this undated photo provided by tourists. [Photo: The Beijing News] |
Over a hundred Chinese tourists who were denied entry into South Korea's Jeju Island are still stranded at the airport since the week-long Chinese National Day holiday from October 1-7.
The Beijing News reports that many Chinese visitors were denied entry to the island which is visa-free to Chinese citizens, with the total number of stranded tourists over one hundred at any given time during the last week.
A Chinese tourist surnamed Zhang said he had booked a five-day tour through the internet and traveled with his wife to Jeju on Thursday. He chose Jeju because of the close proximity from home and the visa-free policy. Their travel package included a four-night accommodation in a local hotel, but they were denied entry because they failed to present a print-out confirmation from the hotel.
Zhang said they were restricted to certain areas at the airport and were told to either wait for their return flight at the airport or change to another flight back home. The Zhang family remains stranded at the airport.
According to videos offered by the tourists, they are restricted to small rooms in the airport. There's nothing but plastic flooring and electrical outlets. Some visitors have been stranded for over 5 days.
A tourist said that they can only sleep on the floor without any covers. "We need to pay airport staff to order food. A set meal with rice and a little vegetables cost 50 yuan (around 7.5 US dollars)," said the tourist.
The Chinese Consulate-general in Jeju has been coordinating with the South Korean side to solve the problem.
Jeju Island is the only area in South Korea that Chinese citizens can visit without a visa, and can stay for 30 days.
However, visitors should provide valid passports, itinerary and real accommodation information to enter the island, otherwise it is possible that they will be denied entry, said an official from the Chinese Consulate-general in Jeju.
The island started its visa-free policy to tourists 15 years ago. Since then, nearly 3 million tourists have visited, 99 percent of which are Chinese.
However, statistics show that the proportion of visitors denied entry has increased in recent years, with over 1,000 visitors denied entry every month during this year.
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