Seoul Metropolitan Government on Thursday unveiled a package of support measures for visitors during the PyeongChang Winter Olympics next week, as the capital city is expected to see 2.3 million foreigners traveling there during the international event. 

“We expect that around 80 percent of the foreign tourists visiting South Korea for the Olympics, as well as the Games’ officials and high ranking delegates, will come to Seoul,” Seoul city’s Vice Mayor Yoon Joon Byeong said, adding that the city is “ready” to welcome guests.

The package includes free shuttle buses between Seoul and major Olympic venues of PyeongChang and Gangneung during the Winter Games and Paralympics, as part of efforts to boost tourism and help support the events.

The city also said that it will renew efforts to curb the overcharging of foreigners by taxi drivers in the metropolitan areas, setting up a 93-membered team of city officials to carry out the intensive crackdowns on taxi fare scams near airports, train and bus stations, and hotels from Feb. 1 to March 31.

The operation hours for local buses, the routes of which include Korea Train Express stops and express bus terminals, will be extended up to 2:50 a.m., while the free shuttle bus services, dubbed “PyeongChang e-Bus” that connects Games venues to Seoul, can be booked online (www.ebusnvan.com) or by smartphone.

Earlier on Tuesday, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon said in an unexpected statement during a press conference that the city also hosts joint taekwondo demonstrations by South and North Korean practitioners at Seoul City Hall and MBC TV headquarters in western Seoul, on Feb. 12 and Feb. 14, respectively, to celebrate the North’s first participation of the Winter Olympics.

The Winter Olympics is scheduled for Feb. 9-25, and the Paralympics for March 9-18 across three main venues: PyeongChang, Jeongseon and Gangneung in Gangwon Province, some 200 kilometers east of Seoul.

By Bak Se-hwan (sh@heraldcorp.com)