Last updated: May 2025.
1. Information sources
For accuracy and reliability, TripSpot prioritises the official sources below. Personal blogs, communities and social media posts are not used as primary sources.
| Source | Used for |
|---|---|
| Government travel-safety and foreign-affairs sites (for English pages, the destination government’s official sources) | Visas, travel advisories, consular help, laws |
| Korea Tourism Organization / TourAPI 4.0 | Korean attraction data, images, descriptions |
| National tourism boards’ official sites (JNTO, Vietnam National Authority of Tourism and others) | Local destinations, transport, culture |
| UNESCO World Heritage Committee | World Heritage listings |
| Agoda | Hotel rates and availability (at the time of the click) |
| Bank of Korea ECOS | Exchange-rate data |
| Airline and airport official sites | Flight schedules and baggage rules |
2. Image licence policy
All images are collected and used only from the sources below. We never use images downloaded without permission or of unknown copyright, and we do not publish spot or hotel posts for which we could not obtain an image.
- Korea Tourism Organization TourAPI: KOGL Type 1 (free to use with attribution)
- Wikimedia Commons: CC BY, CC BY-SA or public domain (author and licence shown)
- Unsplash and Pexels APIs: Unsplash License or CC0 (author shown)
- Our own OG images: thumbnails for each post (generated with the Sharp library)
Every image is stored with imageSource, imageLicense and imageCredit metadata. See the full list on our image credits page.
3. Content levels and verification
We work with three levels according to how sensitive the information is, each with its own verification standard.
| Level | Content type | Verification | Affiliate links |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level A | Visas, entry and exit, travel insurance, official travel advisories | Two or more official sources required | None |
| Level B | Hotels, flights, transport, exchange rates, duty-free | Metasearch figures stated | Allowed (1 to 3 calls to action) |
| Level C | Trip notes, recommendations, culture, food, local tips | Own curation allowed, sources stated | Allowed |
- Hotel prices and ratings are shown with their source and reference date.
- Information not yet verified is marked as being checked and updated once confirmed.
- Spot and hotel posts without an image are not published.
- Every external link has its access date (accessedAt) listed at the end of the article.
4. Update cycle
- Visas and travel advisories (Level A): updated as soon as official notices change
- Hotel price ranges and ratings (Level B): checked at least once a quarter
- Exchange rates: updated at least monthly (Bank of Korea ECOS)
- General travel information (Level C): checked at least once a year
Updated posts show a revised update date at the top and a summary of changes in the text.
5. Banned phrases
The phrases below can mislead or lack sufficient evidence, so they are banned in all posts.
| Banned phrase | Reason |
|---|---|
| "Lowest price guaranteed" | Hotel and flight prices change constantly |
| "No fees" | Policies differ by platform and cannot be generalised |
| "100% safe" | Can contradict official travel advisories |
| "Recommended no matter what" | Every traveller’s situation differs |
| "No. 1 hotel / the best destination" | Rankings that cannot be verified |
| "Fixed exchange rate" | Live rates are only a reference |
6. Separating advertising and affiliates
- Level A content (visas, safety, laws) carries no affiliate links at all.
- No AdSense ads are placed directly above or below the Agoda call-to-action area on hotel pages.
- Shopping affiliate links appear only on travel-gear pages of the Korean site.
- A page has at most three Agoda calls to action.
- Affiliate links are managed centrally rather than written into article text.
- Advertising and affiliate revenue does not affect recommendation order, ratings or hotel selection.
7. AI-assisted writing
Some TripSpot content is drafted with AI writing tools, then reviewed, edited and source-checked by an editor before publication. Final responsibility for publication lies with the TripSpot editor, and AI-generated information is never published without verification against official sources. English versions are translated from our Korean articles and checked the same way.
8. Error reports and corrections
If you find wrong information, changed official notices or an image licence problem, let us know through the contact page.
- General errors and price changes: reviewed and corrected within 7 business days
- Image DMCA notices: reviewed within 2 business days and the image taken down
- Visa and safety errors (Level A): reviewed on receipt and acted on within 24 hours
This policy is updated when our operating approach changes. Earlier versions are available on request through the contact page.