The government has revised visa criteria for Chinese people to allow more of them to visit Korea. Until now, Korea issued multiple-entry visas only to Chinese university professors or wealthy Chinese citizens. But following the revisions, executives and employees of China's top 500 companies as well as students at top-tier universities selected by Beijing will also be able to get them. The changes are designed to attract more Chinese tourists.

The number of Chinese tourists to Korea surged from 710,000 in 2005 to 1.34 million last year. They were the second largest group of foreign visitors after Japanese (3.05 million), and outnumbered American tourists 2 to 1. But the total number of Chinese who visit Korea accounted for only 2.8 percent of all Chinese tourists worldwide. That means a lot more Chinese tourists could visit Korea if it becomes more appealing to them.

Last year, each Chinese tourist spent US$1,791 in Korea, compared to $1,267 for every Japanese tourist. In other words, Chinese tourists are more valuable in terms of tourism revenues.

If the Chinese are opting to visit other countries, it may be partly due to a lack of preparation by the Korean tourism industry. Because Japanese and American tourists stay in the best hotels, Chinese tourists end up having to sleep in mid-to-low-priced hotels an hour's drive outside Seoul after spending the day shopping in the capital. And there are only 300 tour guides in Korea who are fluent in Mandarin and are knowledgeable about Korean culture and history -- just enough to handle 180,000 Chinese tourists. This apparent shortage of qualified tour guides has prompted ethnic Koreans from China or Chinese residents living in Korea, who have no training to work as tour guides, to make up the shortage, and many of them apparently get their information wrong and distorts historical facts.

More than four out of 10 Chinese tourists visiting Korea want to try the local cuisine because they watched the popular historical soap "Daejanggeum (Jewel in the Palace)," which tells the story of a 16th-century woman who overcomes the prejudices of a male-dominated feudal society to rise to the position of royal chef and physician. But surveys show that 24 percent of Chinese visitors said there is a lack of good food. Chinese tourists also complain about being looked down on by Koreans.

Last month, Japan also eased visa criteria and procedures for Chinese people. Tokyo's Narita Airport has staff to cater specifically to Chinese visitors, and a sprawling shopping mall is scheduled to open near the airport in 2013 targeting Chinese tourists. There is even a hotel in Sapporo that caters to Chinese tourists only. Meanwhile the Japanese government is busy marketing medical tour packages targeting wealthy Chinese by offering health check-ups and cancer treatment. Perhaps the Korean government should consolidate the myriad presidential committees which have been wasting taxpayers' money and get them to come up with ways of bringing more tourists to Korea.