Korea continues to promote tourism in 2019

According to statistics from the Korea Tourism Organization, in the first 5 months of 2019, Korea welcomed more than 215,500 Vietnamese tourists - an increase of 32.3% over the same period last year. This shows that Korea is still a favorite destination for Vietnamese people.

To attract more Vietnamese tourists to Korea, in the second half of 2019, KTO in Vietnam will organize many diverse tourism promotion activities specifically for the Vietnamese market. Typical activities include: Organizing exchange events, promoting Korean tourism culture; Actively participating in International Tourism Fairs and coordinating with typical Vietnamese travel companies in campaigns to build & develop sales of Korean tourism products,...

Summer is always the time when Korea welcomes many international tourists to visit and experience unique cultural festivals. This year, many attractive festivals with traditional and modern colors will be held in the second half of the year such as: Buyeo Seodong Lotus Festival (July 5-7, 2019) and Boryeong Mud Festival (July 19-28, 2019) in Chungcheongnam-do province, Jangheung Water Festival (July 16-August 1, 2019) and Muju Firefly Festival (August 31-September 8, 2019) in Jeollanam-do province, Busan Sea Festival at Haeundae, Gwangalli, Dadaepo, Songdo and Songjeong beaches (August 2-6, 2019), Tongyeong Hansan Naval Battle Commemoration Festival, Gyeongsangnam-do province (August 10-14, 2019)... Among them, Boryeong Mud Festival is the most anticipated festival with a grand scale and many diverse experiential activities such as mud bathing, wrestling. mud slides, mud spas, EDM music nights,... These festivals promise to bring visitors many new and interesting experiences when traveling to Korea this summer.

Good news for tourists traveling to Korea in the second half of this year is that KTO will issue the Korea Tour Card Namhaean - South Korea Coastal Travel Card for tourists. This travel card has many attractive privileges such as: More than 30 special offers exclusively for international tourists coming to localities on the South Korean coast such as Busan city, Gyeongsangnam-do province or Jeollanam-do province. With just this card, tourists will be able to explore countless interesting experiences in this area such as cable cars, trams,... with unprecedented discounts.

Following the success of the program “Korean Days in Hanoi 2017”, this year, KTO in Vietnam will organize the program “Vietnam – Korea Culture and Tourism Festival 2019” in Ho Chi Minh City at the end of September 2019. The program is expected to have the participation of relevant agencies in the tourism industry of the two countries with activities to introduce new tourist destinations, new tours and many diverse cultural experiences. In particular, the opening and closing ceremonies of the Festival will have the participation of K-Pop artists from Korea and famous artists from Vietnam. Through this Festival, KTO hopes to not only introduce to the people of Ho Chi Minh City and neighboring areas the image of a friendly and hospitable Korea with many scenic spots and interesting experiences, but also introduce the unique cultural features of Vietnam to the Korean people residing here, thereby creating a deeper cultural exchange between the two countries.

In addition to large-scale promotional events such as the 2019 Vietnam - Korea Culture and Tourism Festival, KTO also organizes many other Korean tourism promotion events in Vietnam such as: Roadshow introducing Korean MICE tourism in July in Hanoi; Korean Senior Travel Consultant project from June to December in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City; Korea Travel Awards 2019 in December in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and many other activities.

In addition to the events organized by KTO, KTO will actively participate in International Tourism Fairs such as: Ho Chi Minh City International Tourism Fair - ITE HCM 2019 (September 5-7, 2019), Cambodia International Tourism Fair - CTM 2019 (October 11-13, 2019), VITM Can Tho International Tourism Fair 2019 (November 29 - December 1, 2019). These international tourism fairs are always an opportunity for KTO to connect Korean and Vietnamese travel agencies, Korean and Cambodian travel agencies to cooperate in building and developing the sale of many quality Korean tourism products, as well as introducing new Korean tourism information and unique experiences to the people of Vietnam and Cambodia.

An indispensable activity of KTO is to coordinate with Vietnamese travel companies in campaigns to build and develop sales of Korean tourism products according to the seasons: Summer Campaign (from June to September), Autumn Campaign (from late September to November) and Winter Campaign (from late November 2019 to January 2020). In particular, in the first week of September - within the framework of the 2019 Summer Campaign, KTO will organize the program "Welcoming Week for Vietnamese tourists in Korea" with discount programs and diverse welcoming activities at airports in Korea for groups of selected Vietnamese travel companies, promising to bring joy and surprises to tourists. Each campaign introduces to tourists high-quality Korean tour products, bearing the unique mark of each season, contributing to diversification and giving tourists more options to choose from.

Mr. Park Jong Sun, Chief Representative of the Korea Tourism Organization in Vietnam, said: “The impressive growth rate of the number of Vietnamese tourists visiting Korea in recent years has affirmed that Vietnam has been and is one of the key markets of Korean tourism, playing a very important role in the increase in the number of international tourists to Korea. I believe that in the coming time, with the convenience of travel between the two countries and the extensive exchanges in many fields, Korea will continue to welcome a large number of Vietnamese tourists to visit with a high growth rate. And Korea will always strive to introduce to the Vietnamese people new information about the country and people of Korea as well as improve the quality of tourism services to bring Vietnamese tourists convenience and satisfaction when traveling in Korea”.

The Anh