The local tourism industry is being hit hard by the nation’s third wave of COVID-19.
Tens of millions of won in electricity bills is placing another heavy burden on large hotels that are already stretched thin during the pandemic.
Todd Thacker reports.

This is a tourist hotel in Jeju City.
During the nation’s third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, its booking rate has dropped to under 20 percent.


To reduce operating costs, the hotel has cut its labor force, but fixed maintenance costs are still a major burden.
Of these expenses, electricity accounts for most of the total utility bill. The hotel pays over 10 million won per month.

The local accommodations industry has been largely inactive since the pandemic hit the nation earlier this year.

Facilities that usually welcome non-Koreans, tour groups, and mid- and small-sized guest houses suffer more.
Electricity bills totaling tens of million of won can push businesses over the edge.

The electricity rate is 130 won per kilowatt hour for hotels because it is classed as general use.
That’s 22 percent higher than power for the manufacturing industry.



The province and the local tourism industry have asked Seoul to reclassify electricity consumed by hotels and guest houses as industrial use since early this year.
However, their request was denied on the grounds that such a move would prove unfair to other industries.

There is a precedent for such a reclassification, though. In both 2001 and 2007, Seoul approved the temporary application of an industrial power rate for accommodations to boost the tourism industry.

Todd Thacker, KCTV