Nearly 300,000 Koreans traveled to the United States without a visa during the first year after Seoul was officially added to the visa waiver program (VWP), a less-than-expected result due to the weak Korean won and severe global economic downturn that kept people home.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said 297,990 non-immigrant Koreans entered the U.S. visa-free in the 2009 fiscal year from October 2008 to September 2009.
The VWP took effect in November 2008 amid hoopla and anticipation that the new privilege would significantly boost Koreans' outbound travel to the U.S. At the time, the Korean government said it expected 1.2 million Koreans to travel to the U.S. by 2011 thanks to the hassle-free process.
Under the program, Koreans have been allowed travel to the U.S. for business or pleasure for up to 90 days without securing a visa.
"We expected a major business uptick since U.S. travel became super easy compared to before," said Kim Sang-hyun, an agent at New York-based U-Travel, "but it turned out that we were too hopeful."
He said group travel from Korea increased little or none all through last year despite new price reductions on tour packages.
"The poor economy and weak Korean won basically zapped the initial benefits of visa-free travel," said Lee Eun-mi, another travel agent in Manhattan.
The number of Korean travelers bound for the U.S. dropped across the board last year, as the DHS data shows 906,006 non-immigrant Koreans visited the U.S. in 2009, down 11.2 percent from the previous year.
Starting this year, however, things began to turn around.
According to Korean Air, the nation's No. 1 carrier, the number of Korean travelers entering Los Angeles reached 10,400 in the first quarter of this year, up more than 70 percent from the same period a year earlier.
"The mood is clearly different this year," said Kim So-young, who works for Korean Air's branch in Los Angeles. "We're beginning to see a steady rise in passengers."
Everything from unfavorable exchanges rates to fears over the H1N1 flu held back people from leaving home in 2009, she said. "But this year we're off to a new start."
The result of the VWP will also have to be newly observed this year, said Raymond Kim, a lawyer at Kim & Min Law Firm, a practice based in Los Angeles.
"Last year's circumstances didn't allow observers to properly assess the result of the VWP," he said, adding that no major side effects are apparent yet.
"Critics' biggest concern was that the VWP may trigger a new wave of illegal immigration," said Kim, "but that's something we have to wait further to see."
Credits : Koreatimes!
No comments:
Post a Comment