FIRST TOURISTS FROM SINGAPORE RETURN

[Anchor Lead]

A Travel bubble is a quarantine-free travel partnership between two or more countries or cities. Currently, Korea has established travel bubbles with Saipan and Singapore. The first tourists from Singapore have arrived in South Korea under a bilateral travel bubble agreement.

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Foreign tourists carrying suitcases and travel bags enter the arrival hall of Incheon Airport.

[Soundbite] "(Welcome to Korea.) Thank you."

A team of greeters, dressed in Korean traditional attire, welcomes the tourists from Singapore. They are the first group of tourists to come to Korea since the pandemic began early last year. Based on their previous experiences in Korea, they express great expectations for this visit, which they have made after a long break.

[Soundbite] Melvin Wong(Singaporean Tourist)

[Soundbite] Annette Li(Singaporean Tourist)

They moved to a testing site at the airport to get tested for Covid-19. Their vaccinations are confirmed with certificates issued by the Singaporean government under a bilateral agreement, without South Korea’s separate verification procedures. A group of Singaporean travel agency officials and reporters will visit major tourist destinations in the capital area and Gangwon-do Province as soon as they receive negative test results.

[Soundbite] Ahn Young-bae(Korea Tourism Organization) : "I hope the tourists will have various experiences of Korean culture and discover new charms of Korea during their visit."

Another group of tourists from Singapore were to arrive in Korea on Tuesday and two flights will fly between the two countries daily to transport tourists.