KTO looks to attract 7m foreign tourists in 2007
Published on | Source
The Korean tourism industry will launch a number of campaigns to attract 7 million visitors from overseas this year, said Kim Jong-min, CEO of the Korea Tourism Organization, at a news conference yesterday.
To realize the ambitious goal, a considerable step up from last year's 6.15 million, the organization has set up a five-point strategy: an aggressive objective based on quota system; a strategic, differentiated business plan for each targeted region; a drastic strengthening of marketing Korea as a brand; developing mid- and long-term plans to promote tourism across the country; and formulating new programs to expand the tourism industry.
"The Korean tourism industry has grown substantially with an estimated 3.5 million serving in the business", said Kim, adding it still has a long way to go to be compatible with the overall size of the country's economy. Also, while the number of Koreans traveling to other countries has seen a huge increase, jumping 15 percent to 11.6 million last year, the number of tourists coming to Korea has risen only two percent to 6.1 million.
Therefore, the KTO will seek to balance the growth of "inbound" and "outbound" tourism while striving to expand the tourism industry as a whole, he said.
In the short run, attracting tourists from Japan and China, the two closest countries, is important and the organization has collaborated with the Seoul Metropolitan Government to add Japanese and Chinese to the road signs in the city, which will be unveiled in a couple of months.
To reach a wider range of potential tourists, the KTO has come up with a marketing campaign "Korea, Sparkling", and is releasing a television commercial featuring ever-popular singer Rain, slightly differing for audiences in Japan, China, Southeast Asia and Europe.
By Hwang You-mee
To realize the ambitious goal, a considerable step up from last year's 6.15 million, the organization has set up a five-point strategy: an aggressive objective based on quota system; a strategic, differentiated business plan for each targeted region; a drastic strengthening of marketing Korea as a brand; developing mid- and long-term plans to promote tourism across the country; and formulating new programs to expand the tourism industry.
"The Korean tourism industry has grown substantially with an estimated 3.5 million serving in the business", said Kim, adding it still has a long way to go to be compatible with the overall size of the country's economy. Also, while the number of Koreans traveling to other countries has seen a huge increase, jumping 15 percent to 11.6 million last year, the number of tourists coming to Korea has risen only two percent to 6.1 million.
Therefore, the KTO will seek to balance the growth of "inbound" and "outbound" tourism while striving to expand the tourism industry as a whole, he said.
In the short run, attracting tourists from Japan and China, the two closest countries, is important and the organization has collaborated with the Seoul Metropolitan Government to add Japanese and Chinese to the road signs in the city, which will be unveiled in a couple of months.
To reach a wider range of potential tourists, the KTO has come up with a marketing campaign "Korea, Sparkling", and is releasing a television commercial featuring ever-popular singer Rain, slightly differing for audiences in Japan, China, Southeast Asia and Europe.
By Hwang You-mee
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