The government will put as much as 60 billion won toward travel and holiday subsidies in a bid to spur domestic consumption and breathe new life into the economy.

Finance minister Choo Kyung-ho announced the details of the plan with a price tag of almost 50 million U.S. dollars on Wednesday during an emergency economic and livelihood meeting presided over by President Yoon Suk Yeol.

Noting that private spending in the tourism and lodging industries has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels amid inflation and high interest, the government pledged to offer 30-thousand won for lodging to one million people and 100-thousand won as a vacation bonus to 190-thousand workers at small and mid-sized companies.

Discounts will be offered for online amusement park reservations and KTX tickets packaged with local tourism programs as well as at department stores and duty free shops.

The government will raise the monthly threshold for gift certificate usage at traditional markets and offer 17 billion won in discounts for key agricultural, livestock and fisheries products.

Measures to attract a target of ten million foreign visitors this year will be implemented, such as an expanded number of flights and a temporary exemption of the electronic travel authorization program for tourists from 22 countries, including Japan, the U.S. and Britain. This comes as the number of tourists to the country remains at 30 percent of pre-pandemic levels.