Japanese tourists in Myeongdong look at a Japanese-language guidebook on Korea.
But what was supposed to be an affordable three days of sightseeing and shopping around the popular shopping districts Myeong-dong and Namdaemun, turned into a budget buster the middle-class newlyweds did not anticipate.
Did they go overboard gorging on sumptuous hanwoo while impulsively buying Yonsama socks and Louis Vuitton handbags?
Hardly.
According to Motoko, the couple spent a third of their travel budget on taxis. “We don’t know our way around so it feels as though we’ve been wasting money and spending more than necessary on taxis,” she said. “Sometimes it feels like we’re going in circles when we’re in cabs.”
She’s not alone in her gripes about taxis.
A recent survey conducted by the Korea Tourism Organisation shows that the number of calls made by disgruntled tourists in 2009 saw a 13.4 per cent increase from the previous year.
Of the complaints, difficulties while shopping and disputing costs of taxi fares topped the list with 32.5 per cent and 17.5 per cent of the total 468 complaints filed.
“Our experience was pleasant up until we walked out of the key attractions around the city,” Watanabe said. “It was when we hopped into a taxi and began getting around town that our trip became unpleasant. We really feel as though we spent twice the amount of our travel budget, and I hate it. In their defense, the drivers just say they don’t understand what we’re saying, but I find it personally inconvenient. It’s made me disdainful of the drivers here.”
When asked about taxi scams, Baek Ki-chun, 62, a taxi driver, was quick to defend his profession.
“That was only during the old days when you saw drivers hanging around the airport looking for people to rip off,” he said. “Nowadays, we don’t do stuff like that to tourists, because we care very much about giving the best impression possible of our country to foreign guests when they visit.”
Baek, a 15-year veteran, conceded later that there might be some who take advantage of tourists. “Look, in countries like Japan, you don’t see drivers committing such shameful acts because their drivers get all the proper employee benefits and a respectable salary, regardless of how many passengers they get per day,” he said.
“Here in Korea, they tried to implement something similar when DJ (former President Kim Dae-jung) was around, but it never happened because people started saying drivers would just slack off without making their rounds, so the government decided to scrap the whole idea.
“The only thing we have to rely on is getting as many passengers in a day as possible in order to meet our quota. So I can understand when some drivers get desperate enough to commit disgraceful acts like that.” – read more at Asia News Network…
Chinese Luxury Shoppers Outspend Japanese 2-To-1 At South Korean Malls: Wealthy Chinese Travelers In Korea Favor Cosmetics, Children’s Supplies, Ginseng And Healthcare Products, Luxury Watches – This week, more news about free-spending mainland Chinese tourists came out of South Korea. As more Chinese tourists have headed outward, most of them staying relatively close to home, the Korean media has consistently framed news about tourist behavior as a sort of rivalry between China and Japan — a phenomenon Jing Daily discussed last fall. (’Tourist Profile: Japanese vs. Chinese‘) According to Tencent (via Yonhap), after a year in which the number (and profligacy) of Chinese tourists increased at Korean luxury malls, shoppers from mainland China now account for twice as many sales per capita as Japanese tourists.
Hummer price soars in Shanghai: Although Tengzhong failed in buying Hummer, the Hummer dealers are overjoyed, taking the opportunity to raise the price. On February 25, the reporter learned from Hummer dealers in Shanghai that after hearing the acquisition of Hummer failed, dealers immediately raised the price of Hummer, among which Hummer H3X produced in 2009 rose by 20,000 yuan, and Hummer H2 is planning to rise by 100,000 yuan. (Via Business – People’s Daily Online.)
Calvin Klein To Focus On Chinese Market In 2010: American fashion brand Calvin Klein has announced plans to open 60 new chain stores in Asia in 2010, mainly targeting its expansion in the Chinese market.
According to reports from Singapore’s Channel News Asia, Calvin Klein’s current revenues from the Asian areas account for 15% of its income worldwide. (Via ChinaRetailNews.com.)
Toyota chief’s testimony closely watched in Japan: Japan appeared largely relieved Thursday that much-anticipated testimony by Toyota’s chief executive before U.S. lawmakers was finally over, though analysts said the company’s recall woes are no closer to being solved. Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda’s appearance before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, was closely watched in Japan, where the company his grandfather founded is a national icon. It was the top item on local morning news programs. At least one channel briefly broadcast his testimony live, where it took place Wednesday in Washington. (AP) (Via News On Japan.)
Singapore Witnesses Record Number of Travelers in January: January of 2010 managed to see the highest ever recorded number of travels to Singapore for the month. Figures shared by the Singapore Tourism Board have revealed that as many as 908,000 travelers visited Singapore over the past month, which is a hike of nearly 17.5% compared to January of 2009. The top 5 markets for the month which generated visitors for Singapore were Indonesia with 173,000 visitors, China with 99,000 travelers, Australia with 90,000 travelers, 68,000 came in from Malaysia and 57,000 travelers were from India. (Via TopNews Singapore.)
UPS Adds 101 New Locations In China: UPS plans to increase its global service parts logistics network significantly, by establishing 101 new field stocking locations in China. According to Brad Mitchell, the president of UPS Logistics and Distribution, UPS China is a critical part of the growth strategy of many companies worldwide and UPS’s regional and global FSL network is positioned to support these companies after-market needs in Asia. He pointed out that the UPS network was already the world’s largest logistics network. (Via China Sourcing News.)
Singapore’s retail sales down 1.4% year-on-year in Nov 2009: Singapore’s retail sales decreased by 1.4 percent in November 2009 compared with a year ago, according to Singapore Department of Statistics on Friday. Turnover of motor vehicles in November 2009 decreased by 16 percent, while food and beverages sales fell by 3.1 percent over a year ago. In contrast, sales of watches and jewelry, medical goods and toiletries, furniture and household equipment increased by between 7.2 percent and 14.8 percent. (Via Business – People’s Daily Online.)
Google’s loss could be Baidu’s gain: Domestic search firm Baidu Inc could be the biggest beneficiary of a possible pullout from China by Internet major Google, leading industry experts said yesterday. The NASDAQ-listed Baidu already dominates the Chinese search landscape and it has signaled its intentions to spread wings, even before Google hinted at a pullout. The California-based Google could see an exodus of advertisers from the Chinese mainland and see them switching to Baidu. (Via Business – People’s Daily Online.)
Mainland Chinese Tourists Spent $42 Billion Overseas In 2009 – Mainland Tourist Spending Abroad Outspent International Tourist Spending In China For The First Time: Chinese Media is reporting this week that outbound tourists from mainland China spent some $42 billion overseas (including Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan) last year, outspending inbound international tourists for the first time. Though articles do point out that the majority of first-time outbound tourists from the mainland went to nearby Hong Kong (18%) and Macau (16%) — two very accessible destinations for Chinese tourists, who typically travel there for quick weekend jaunts or shopping sprees — more of them are heading to more distant locales, staying longer, and spending more. (Via Jing Daily :.)
Taiwan Semiconductor to hire 3,000 engineers amid expansion: (ChinaPost.com.tw) – Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world’s largest custom-chip maker, plans to recruit more than 3,000 engineers this year as the company expands. (Via Taiwan Headlines – Business.)
Dubai Seeks Chinese Tourists
Dubai Banking On Increased Chinese Tourism: Dubai hopes more Chinese tourists will inject much-needed cash into its tourism industry in 2010: One of the interesting effects of the global economic slowdown has been the growth in outbound tourism among mainland Chinese. Although foreign travel still remains an elite activity despite the large numbers of Chinese tourists appearing in cities like New York, Paris and Tokyo, visa restrictions are easing year by year and rising incomes (as well as a growing middle class) mean that more mainlanders than ever before have the ability to take overseas jaunts. For many retailers, hotels, airlines and tour operators, these Chinese tourists have been a godsend. In an effort to tap into the growing Chinese outbound tourist market, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) stepped up its efforts to woo Chinese tourists in 2009, following the Chinese government’s loosening of visa restrictions. As an article in this week’s National newspaper (Dubai) observes, since last September, tour operators, hoteliers and retailers throughout the emirate have reported an influx of Chinese tourists. (Via Jing Daily :.)
Online shopping boom in China: Shi Fang spends more than 4,000 yuan (588 U.S. dollars) a month shopping, but she rarely goes to the shopping mall. Why need a shopping mall if you have Taobao? I am a Taobaoer,’ says Shi, 28, a freelance writer in Beijing. Taobao, China’s largest online shopping site has become an indispensable part of Shi Fang’ s life. She spends half of her monthly salary to Taobao, logging onto the website every day, even when she doesn’t need anything… (Via China – People’s Daily Online.)
China becomes World’s top exporter: New trade figures released by the German national statistics office show that China is now the world’s leading exporter, ahead of Germany. In the 11 months from January to November, mainland exports reached a total value of US$1.07 trillion. German exports amounted to US$1.05 trillion. (Via RTHK On Internet – Finance News.)
High-speed Hong Kong-Guangzhou railway plan turns political: A plan to build a fast train linking Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland city Guangzhou has snowballed into a political saga for legislators and the public as hundreds of protesters rallied outside the legislature in Hong Kong on Friday. Thousands of people, divided into those supporting and opposing the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link, a line costing HK$66.9 billion (US$8.6 billion) to build, circled the legislature building while legislators debated in a marathon meeting on funding approval. (Via Kyodo News (Business).)
Acer recalls 22,000 laptop computers: (ChinaPost.com.tw) – Taiwan’s Acer Inc. is recalling about 22,000 laptop computers that could overheat and cause burns. (Via Taiwan Headlines – Business.)
