我们应对危机的唯一方式，永远都只能是诚实和高效。——朱容台这样说

　　“我们应对危机的唯一方式，永远都只能是诚实和高效。”

　　"The only way for us to respond to the crisis... is always being honest and efficient."

　　Vol.1 Issue 6

　　March 10, 2020

　　聊点什么 | Subject of the Day

　　# 关于新冠肺炎疫情和旅游我怎么看

　　# Quick Thoughts About COVID-19 Outbreak & Tourism

　　来者何人 | Meet our Ace

　　朱容台

　　观光体育局长

　　首尔特别市

　　Joo, Yong Tae

　　General-Director of Tourism & Sports

　　Seoul Metropolitan Government

　　他怎么说 | What the Ace says...

　　问：您的业务/机构是否受到新冠疫情影响?程度如何?

　　Q: Is your business / organization affected by the recent outbreak of coronavirus? To what extent?

　　答：疫情对首尔的各行各业都产生了重大的影响，高度市场化的旅游业是减收最大的行业之一。突发疫情可以说给旅游业带来一个大刹车，旅行社、航空公司、酒店住宿以及会展行业面临的直接损失巨大。截至3月4日，已经有4408家企业向雇佣劳动部提出了歇业待岗申报，其中包括旅游行业的1256家，制造行业的556家和教育行业的471家。2020年2月，哈拿多乐旅行社(HANATOUR)的出境游产品销售市场同比缩水84.8%，模德旅行社(MODETOUR)产品销售同比减少77%;首尔景区的情况也不容乐观，2月份访问首尔四大宫殿、宗庙、朝鲜王陵的游客量为32万人，同比减少62.7%。热播的韩国旅游类综艺节目，比如KBS的《Battle Trip》也计划暂停录制播放。本次疫情对首尔旅游业的冲击要远远大于2003年的SARS和2015年的MERS。

　　A: The outbreak has had a significant impact on all walks of life in Seoul, while tourism as a highly market-oriented industry suffered from revenue loss by the biggest margin. The situation had brought an abrupt halt to the tourism industry, causing huge direct losses to travel agencies, airlines, hospitality and MICE businesses. As of March 4, 4408 enterprises had lodged their applications for temporary closedown with the Ministry of Employment and Labor of Korea, including 1256 from the tourism industry, 556 from manufacturing and 471 from education. In February 2020, the sales of outbound tourism products of Hanatour decreased by 84.8% on year-to-year basis, while that of Modetour decreased by 77% compared to last year. Reception at the scenic spots in Seoul also witnessed a downturn with the number of tourists visiting the four major palaces, temples and Royal Tombs being 320,000 in February, a year-on-year decrease of 62.7%. Many ongoing popular Korean travel reality shows, such as the "Battle Trip" of KBS, have scheduled to suspend recording and broadcasting. The impacts of the COVID-19 on Seoul's tourism seem to be far greater than that of SARS in 2003 and MERS in 2015.

　　问：根据您的乐观估计，旅游业从疫情的负面影响中完全恢复需要多长时间?

　　Q: According to your optimistic estimate, how long will it take for tourism to fully recover from the negative impact of the outbreak?

　　答：到7月份应该会有一定程度的恢复，完全恢复要看疫情何时完全在中韩两国终结，疫情终结后，首尔旅游市场的完全恢复大概还需四个月的时间或者更快。我们可以从五年前首尔MERS的数据中得到一些启示，2015年5月MERS疫情前，韩国入境游市场保持10%以上的增长势头，6月疫情爆发海外游客数量急速下滑，同比入境减少41%，7月减少53.5%，7月底疫情平息，9~10月就迅速恢复到疫前水平。

　　A: By July we should be able to see a certain degree of recovery. The full recovery of Seoul's tourism market will take another four months or fewer after the epidemic ends completely in China and Korea. We can get some clues from the data collected during MERS in Seoul five years ago. Before the outbreak in May 2015, Korea’s inbound tourism maintained a growth momentum of more than 10%. The number of overseas tourists fell sharply in June with a year-on-year decrease of 41%, followed by another 53.5% dive in July. After the situation calmed down at the end of July, we immediately saw numbers bounce back to normal level in September and October.

　　对于首尔旅游市场的恢复，我们还是愿意持乐观态度。我身边有不少中国朋友因为不出门刷了最近的热播韩剧《爱情迫降》、《梨泰院class》，电影《寄生虫》也在疫情蔓延期间斩获奥斯卡四项大奖，这些对首尔旅游来讲都是加分项，我们最近还开发了电影《寄生虫》首尔拍摄外景地探访路线，希望更多的朋友能通过优秀的韩国影视作品对首尔产生兴趣，疫情结束后来首尔走走看看。

　　We are still optimistic about the recovery of Seoul's tourism market. I know many Chinese friends had taken the opportunity to watch the latest popular Korean TV series "Crash Landing on You" and "Itaewon Class" during their stay at home. The movie "Parasite" had lately brought back four academy awards. These are the bonus points for Seoul’s tourism. Recently we even developed a tour to the location where the movie "Parasite" was shot in Seoul. I hope more friends will find their passion in Seoul through excellent Korean films or television shows and decide to come and visit when things are back to normal.

　　问：您认为疫情后行业恢复应该关注的一个突出问题是什么?

　　Q: What do you think is a key point that our industry must pay attention to when it recovers from the crisis? (Please pick only one)

　　答：对于政府而言，最应该关注的问题是政府在疫情对应中应该扮演的角色。要明确政府能做什么，应该做什么，做什么是积极有效的，做什么是无效甚至是添乱的。政府应该在疫中守底线，疫后谋振兴，该出钱时出钱，该降息时降息，构建好能够帮助企业复苏的环境，帮助整个行业渡过难关。政府救市，不是说政府要去帮助某个特定的企业，去干涉市场规则，而是助力整个行业的生存，让行业能在危机中活下来，把人员解雇降到最低，留住生产力，先生存再发展。刚才提到有1256家旅游企业已经提交了歇业待岗申报，这些企业员工的待岗工资，法律规定企业要给员工到70%，这70%的工资，政府会尽最大努力提供最大额度的资金援助。

　　A: For a government, it is the most important to figure out its role to play in the response to the outbreak. We should make clear what the government can and should do, what is positive and effective, and what is ineffective and even troublesome. The government needs to hold the bottom line during the epidemic and seek revitalization afterwards, provide financial assistance and cut interest rates when necessary to build an environment that helps the businesses to recover and the whole industry to pass through the difficulties. When we say that the government must rescue the market, we are not indicating that the government should help certain individual enterprises and interfere with the market rules. Rather, the government should help the whole industry to make a living, so that it can survive the crisis, avoid compulsory redundancies, and retain productivity. Because after all, survival comes first, and development second. As above mentioned, 1256 tourism enterprises had lodged their applications for closing down. These enterprises still need to pay 70% of the wages as required by the law while their employees are waiting for going back to work. Our government will try its best to provide financial assistance to the maximum extent In this regard.

　　问：您认为疫情可能为旅游业未来带来的一点变化(积极或消极)是什么?

　　Q: What change (positive or negative) do you think the outbreak may eventually bring to the tourism industry in the future? (Please pick only one)

　　答：旅游业是外部因素敏感性行业，暴露在多种风险之下，非常脆弱;但旅游业也是经营门槛低的行业，产业链长，吃住行游购娱范围广泛，所以也是极具复原力和生命力的行业。疫情之后旅游业一定会发生重新构架，也就是整个行业的大洗牌，企业在自救自强的过程中，缩减费用，剥离不良业务，减低管理和运营成本，协调高效，这样的优质企业会在危机中生存下来，推进整个旅游业的高质量发展。突发的疫情，对所有旅业人来说都是一次大考和一次大战，思考谋变化，创新谋发展，在考验中活下去。困难是试金石，重新打磨自身，有努力就有发展，更多宝贵的潜能、品质、伙伴会在危机之后显露出来。

　　A: Sensitive to external factors, tourism as an industry is exposed to a variety of risks and therefore rather vulnerable. That being said, tourism is also known for its low operating threshold and a long supply chain consisting of catering, hospitality, travel, sight-seeing, shopping and entertainment businesses, making it an industry with great resilience and vitality. After the epidemic, we should expect a restructure in the tourism industry, that is to say, an industrywide shuffle. Only such high-quality businesses that had figured out how to cut back on spending, divest bad businesses, reduce management and operation costs, and coordinate efficiently in their own practices of self-help and self-improvement could eventually survive the crisis and bring a new round of quality development to the industry. The sudden outbreak is a tough trial for the tourism community. To survive from the test, one must seek change through thinking, and develop through innovation. The difficulty is a touchstone. Keep refining ourselves, we will achieve development through hard working, and harvest more valuable potentials, qualities and partnerships after the crisis.

　　这种产业的升级和进化也是经过验证的。2015年首尔MERS后，旅游业为了尽快恢复市场，更注重公共卫生的维护，更关注游客的反馈，行业协同互助，为游客提供高质量的服务;从业人员业更加珍惜工作机会，说话更好听，服务更贴心周到;政府将明码标价义务化，出台严惩宰客对策，制作外语菜单，在四大宫殿和宗庙新增中文说明和导游服务，增设投诉中心，加强团队游产品质量管理力度。韩国文化体育观光部还面向全国民推出了K-smile(全民微笑欢待游客)活动，厚植民意基础，让旅游得到更多的社会关注。这一系列举措持续至今，让我们看到疫情之后的旅游业，不只是对外营销的力度加强了，更重要的是通过内在的改变实现了质的飞跃。

　　This upgrading or evolution of the industry is proven. When the MERS in Seoul settled down in 2015, in order to restore the market as soon as possible, the industry paid more attention to the maintenance of public health and the feedback of tourists, cooperated closely with each other to provide high-quality tourist services; the employees became more appreciative of work opportunities, more pleasant to speak to, and more attentive to their customers; the government issued regulations to guarantee that prices are clearly marked, adopted measures to severely punish fraudulent behaviors, introduced menus in foreign language, added Chinese explanations and tour guide services at the four major palaces and temples, set additional complaint centers, and strengthened the quality management of group tour products. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Korea launched a nationwide campaign named K-smile (Korean people smile and welcome tourists), which laid a solid foundation of public support, making tourism a hotter topic of the society. From this series of measures that continue to this day, we could tell that the tourism industry had not only strengthened its marketing efforts in foreign markets after the epidemic, but also achieved a leap forward in quality through self-evolvement.

　　问：您的机构在此次危机应对中取得的一点经验是什么?

　　Q: Please share with us a story of your business / organization in dealing with the crisis that others may draw experience from. (Please focus on one aspect)

　　答：随着正常生活的回归，巨大需求转化的市场，反弹的客流，如何去应对，要练好内功，提前谋划，适时获取，做到业停脑不停。大年初二，疫情刚刚在湖北省蔓延，首尔市观光体育局就成立了紧急应对工作小组，运营每日动向报告机制，每日不间断关注并分析国内旅游市场、海外旅游市场以及政府对策这三大块的业界动向，做到信息共享迅速透明，全体员工共同学习。之后又针对疫情发展的不同阶段，即：应对阶段(2~3月)、复苏阶段(3~6月)、振兴阶段(6月~)制定了各有侧重点的首尔旅游振兴三步走策略，随时升级更新。并于疫情在韩国扩散之前及时组织了旅游企业代表恳谈会，为行业提供切实援助。

　　A: As we slowly return to our normal life, there will be a new market to be transformed from huge demand and a rebound of passenger flow awaiting ahead of us. To prepare ourselves, we need to work on our inner strength, plan ahead of time, seize the opportunity and keep our mind spinning despite the stillness of business. On the second day of the Lunar New Year when the epidemic in Hubei was still in its early stage, the Tourism & Sports Bureau of Seoul established an emergency response working group and adopted a daily reporting mechanism to monitor the trends of domestic tourism, overseas tourism and government responses. We made sure our information sharing was rapid and transparent so that all our employees were on the same page. Later on, a three-step strategy was formulated and updated in real time for the revitalization of Seoul’s tourism with different priorities designed for the different stages of the epidemic course, namely the response stage (February to March), the recovery stage (March to June), and the revitalization stage (June ~). Before Korea was struck by the virus, KOLs of tourism businesses were brought together for a meeting, at which practical guidance was provided.

　　在疫情中我们更加重视与中国合作伙伴的交流，越是困难，越要加强联系，与首尔建立了旅游合作关系的北京市、湖南省、四川省、西安市、贵州省等省市、还有旅游平台马蜂窝，我们之间除了互相加油鼓劲，还即时共享防疫和对策，交换合作想法，策划展望疫情后的务实合作项目，共同努力减少疫情影响。

　　In this time of epidemic, we pay more attention to the communication with our Chinese partners. The more difficult it becomes, the more we need to strengthen the ties. We have established cooperative relations with such provinces and municipalities as Beijing, Hunan, Sichuan, Xi'an and Guizhou as well as the online platform of Mafengwo.com. Through these channels we’ve been cheering each other up, sharing anti-epidemic practices and countermeasures, exchanging cooperation ideas, and planning down-to-earth cooperation projects after the crisis. We will work together to reduce the negative impacts.

　　韩国目前的确诊人数确实很多，到今天已经有7000余例，大部分在大邱，但是我们也应该关注一下检测人群数字，韩国已经累计检测了19万余例，超过了中国外全世界其他国家和地区检测人数总和，这体现了一个负责任国家的在防疫战中的担当和效率。2015年韩国克服了MERS疫情之后，完善了全国性的急救体系和长期疫情防控体系，完成一个检测非常快，几个小时可出结果，相比2015年的MERS疫情，大大缩短了确诊时间。在本次疫情中，韩国仿照快餐店的驾车点餐方式，迅速开发并在全国境内投入使用了“新冠检测得来速(Drive-thru)系统”，通过几个窗口在车上完成采样全部过程。患者自驾车来，不用下车，就像点快餐一样，摇下车窗进行挂号、诊疗、采样、消毒后开车离去。此举大幅节省了时间，常规检测点1小时可采2例，一天20例，得来速10分钟采1例，一天60例，最重要是把不必要的接触降到最低，保护了医护人员的安全。无论是抗疫还是疫后复苏，我们应对危机的唯一方式，永远都只能是诚实和高效。

　　At present, the number of confirmed cases in Korea is indeed large. Up to date, there are more than 7000 cases, most of which are in Daegu. However, what must also be brought into consideration is the size of tested population. Korea has tested more than 190,000 cases in total, more than the total number of tested people in the rest of the world except China. This reflects the commitment and efficiency of a responsible country in this war against the epidemic. Overcame the MERS in 2015, Korea improved its national first-aid and long-term epidemic prevention & control system, which today enables us to do test very quickly with results coming out in just a few hours. Compared with that in 2015, the time needed for diagnosis has been greatly shortened. In this outbreak, we quickly developed and put into use in the whole country a "Drive-thru" system inspired by the drive-through ordering system at the fast food restaurants. The new system makes it possible to perform the entire sampling process through several windows with the person being tested staying on the vehicle the whole time. Just like ordering fast food, the patients drive by themselves, roll down the window for registration, diagnosis and treatment, sampling, disinfection and then drive away, without having to get off their cars. This practice has greatly saved time. A regular test station may test on two persons in one hour or 20 people in a day, while a Drive-thru station can finish one test within 10 minutes, which means 60 test in one day. It is worth mentioning that the new practice minimizes unnecessary contact and therefore better protects the safety of the medical staff. The only way for us to respond to the crisis, whether in the fight against the epidemic or the recovery later on, is always being honest and efficient.

　　关于首尔市和首尔观光体育局 | About Seoul and Tourism & Sports Bureau of Seoul

　　首尔是韩国的首都，是拥有两千多年历史的文化古都，汉江蜿蜒穿城而过，四周由群山环绕，景色怡人。首尔市有25个自治区和423个行政洞，各自治区是处理委任事务与自治事务的基础地方团体，提供与居民生活最为密切的行政服务，市长和各区长均由市民直接投票选出。继1993年与北京市建立“姐妹城市”合作关系后，首尔市先后与中国山东省、江苏省、广东省、浙江省、天津市建立了友好合作关系，进一步密切与中国各城市的合作交流，谋求共同繁荣发展。

　　首尔市观光体育局是一方面促进旅游发展，一方面将专业体育和全民健身事业整合，将文化旅游和体育事业有机结合共同推进的新型政府部门，重组新建于2015年7月，下设16个工作组和一个负责全民健身基础设施建设的事务所，共有公务员210名，肩负着提高市民生活质量的重任，通过各种大型体育赛事促进旅游发展创出联合营销效果。

　　首尔特别市于2018年成为世界旅游联盟会员。

　　Seoul, the Capital of South Korea, is an ancient city with over 2,000 years of history. Hankang, the Han River meanders through the city which is surrounded by mountains, composing the very beautiful scenery. Seoul consists of 25 autonomous regions and 423 administrative divisions. An autonomous region is a foundational local group managing appointment of transaction and conducting self-government, offering administrative service concerning the livelihood of the residents. Mayor and District Heads are elected by citizen’s vote directly. After being Beijing’s sister city in 1993, Seoul has built up relationships with sisterhood cooperation Shandong Province, Jiangsu Province, Guangdong Province, Zhejiang Province and Tianjin, struggling for joint development.

　　Tourism & Sports Bureau of Seoul, South Korea is a new government department of promoting cultural tourism and sports. It strives to accelerate tourism development and integrate technical sports and national fitness cause. Rebuilding in July of 2015, the Tourism & Sports Bureau of Seoul manages 16 teams and an office in charge of national fitness infrastructure construction. 210 civil servants of this bureau make every effort to improve citizens’ life and promote tourism development through all kinds of grate sports events.

　　Seoul Metropolitan Government is a member of WTA since 2018.