A Hong Kong travel agency has come up with an interesting offer to clients who find live bedbugs while travelling in South Korea.
Wing On Travel will partially refund the cost of the trip to the first traveller who finds a live bedbug in a hotel, coach or restaurant while on any trip to South Korea between 1 December and 29 February 2024.
South Korea has been grappling with an outbreak of bed bugs, which were first found in Incheon and later Seoul, usually in shared accommodations.
According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), a Wing On staff member, such as a tour guide or driver, would have to verify the bedbug discovery, and the refund would be given upon the traveller’s return to Hong Kong.
Simon Ma Sai-man, deputy general manager of Wing On Travel, said the move is aimed at regaining customers’ confidence in the company’s South Korean tour groups. The number of registrations for such tour groups dropped significantly when the bed bug infestation became widely known.
The policy is not to encourage tourists to “hunt for bedbugs” during their tour, added Ma.
The agency might not be taking too much of a risk in offering the refund, however, as authorities in South Korea believe they are on top of the infestations thanks to a widespread bug spraying programme.