The South Korean government has announced that the country is now free of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (Mers), which has killed 36 people and infected 186.
The news comes as the Tourism Organisation’s 100-day Tourism Recovery Plan gets underway to attract international visitors back to South Korea and stimulate appeal for inbound groups. The number of foreign visitors to South Korea dropped by more than 40 per cent in June compared with last year’s figures, plummeting a further 60 per cent by the middle of July. A 11.5 trillion won (US$9.8 billion) stimulus package was approved last week to help the recovering economy.
South Korea recently secured two major event bids for 2016, including a Chinese health product company incentive for 15,000 employees, set to be the largest incentive group to visit Korea by plane, and the 27th FISM World Championships to Magic, which will be attended by 2,500 participants from across 50 countries.
Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn declared a “de facto end” to the crisis after no new viruses for 23 days, saying: “I ask the public to shake off all concerns over Mers and to resume normal daily activities, including economic, cultural, leisure and school activities,” the Yonhap news agency reports.
The prime minister also apologised for the government’s reaction to the crisis, which was criticised for being slow and not properly equipping health centres for a contagious disease.
