In the first half of 2020, the world was severely affected in many aspects by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. The tourism industry of Korea as well as Vietnam fell into a severe recession, causing huge economic losses. According to statistics from the Korea Tourism Organization, the number of international visitors to Korea in the first 5 months of 2020 was more than 2.1 million; down 231.44% over the same period last year. The number of Vietnamese visitors to Korea alone reached only 73,490; down 195.19% over the same period last year. This is an unprecedented decline in the Korean tourism industry.
Up to now, Vietnam and South Korea are two countries that are assessed to have effective epidemic prevention achievements, showing positive recovery opportunities. Therefore, in order to re-attract Vietnamese tourists to choose South Korea as a destination after the pandemic, KTO Vietnam has been organizing a series of activities to re-promote the image of South Korea through online channels combined with organizing events in Vietnam.
Life in Korea is gradually returning to normal.
Kicking off the KTO's series of tourism re-promotion activities is the Korean tourism commemorative photo contest "Relive your Korea trip" held from April to June 2020, with the aim of recalling beautiful memories in Korea of tourists, thereby arousing the desire to return to Korea as soon as the epidemic ends.
In the Vietnamese market alone, KTO will organize a dance competition featuring Yoona - a member of the famous girl group Girls' Generation (SNSD) in KTO's Korean tourism promotion videos. The "Korea Tourism Yoona Dance Cover Challenge" is scheduled to be held in August or September this year. Along with the dance competition, the offline event "Experience a new Korea - Korea Travel Experience Booth" is scheduled to be held in Hanoi for 3 months - from August to October in the form of a booth with many attractive activities.
KTO will bring the most authentic Korean travel experience space with a variety of themes that change every month such as K-pop, K-Beauty, K-drama (Korean movies), nature, famous tourist destinations... Coming to this special booth, visitors can participate in many different interesting activities such as K-pop dance performances, Korean cooking classes, Korean makeup classes, quizzes to receive gifts... and learn more general information about Korean tourism.
It is expected that in November this year, KTO will organize the program "Korean Days in Hanoi 2020" with activities to introduce new tourist destinations, new tours and many diverse cultural experiences.
An indispensable activity of KTO is to coordinate with Vietnamese travel companies in campaigns to build and develop Korean tourism products. KTO will always accompany travel companies to overcome this difficult period to restore and develop Korean tours.
“Due to the impact of the epidemic, we are facing many difficulties in recovery. We always appreciate and pay much attention to the Vietnamese market because Vietnam has been and is one of the key markets for Korean tourism. Through the activities to re-promote Korean tourism in the second half of 2020, we hope to contribute to promoting tourism exchanges between the two countries strongly again in the coming time,” said Mr. Park Jong Sun - Chief Representative of the Korea Tourism Organization in Vietnam.
