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2023 was an extremely active year for KTO Vietnam across all provinces and cities in Vietnam, recording impressive figures. The number of Vietnamese tourists visiting South Korea in the first 11 months reached 386,921, achieving 74% compared to the same period in 2019 and 139.7% compared to the same period in 2022. This figure also demonstrates that South Korea's goal of attracting 400,000 Vietnamese tourists in 2023 is gradually being achieved, recovering 72% compared to 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Along with the overall market recovery, South Korean MICE tourism has also achieved many outstanding successes in Vietnam. By the end of November this year, 38,435 MICE tourists had visited South Korea, a 228% increase compared to the same period in 2022. Of these, 16 groups had over 300 guests, a 167% increase; and the number of group tours from South Korean-invested businesses in Vietnam reached 457, a 400% increase compared to 2022.
In particular, with the impressive achievements mentioned above, Vietnam is the leading market in Southeast Asia in terms of both the number of tourists in general and MICE tourists in particular visiting South Korea.
Opening Ceremony of Korea Tourism Night 2023
The Korea Tourism Night & Korea Tourism Awards 2023 is an opportunity for KTO in Vietnam to express its gratitude to all the organizations and individuals who have contributed to the development of Korean tourism in the Vietnamese market, and also to honor the partners who have collaborated with KTO over the past period.
The 2023 Korea Tourism Awards include categories such as “Strategic Partner,” “Outstanding Partner,” “Innovative Partner,” “Program of the Year,” and recognition for outstanding partners. The 2023 Korea Tourism Incentive Awards will include three categories: “Diamond Partner,” “Gold Partner,” and “Silver Partner.” Award criteria will be based on statistical data demonstrating the performance of organizations and individuals in bringing incentive and group tours to Korea in 2023.
Korea Tourism Awards:
- In the "Strategic Partner" category: Vietravel Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City continued to excel, winning awards for their active and effective participation in promoting Korean tourism in localities across the country and for their comprehensive cooperation with KTO in building and developing diversified products for both individual and group tourists, with impressive customer acquisition achievements.
- In the "Impressive Partner" category: awards were given to three companies, including Flamingo Redtours and Vietrantour in Hanoi, and BenThanh Tourist in Ho Chi Minh City, for their diverse and unique new products such as high-end tours, experiences of the Korean Hallyu cultural wave, exploration of Korean localities, and impressive customer gathering achievements.
Awards were presented for "Strategic Partner," "Outstanding Partner," "Innovative Partner," and "Promising Partner."
- In the "Creative Partner" category: the award went to Top Travel and Hanoi Tourism in Hanoi, along with Transviet in Ho Chi Minh City, three companies that have made significant contributions to building and developing unique and innovative Korean tourism products, utilizing local airports in Korea and attracting the attention of Vietnamese tourists.
- In the "Promising Partner" category: the award was given to Hanoitourist and Hanoi Skytour in Hanoi, and Trieu Hao Tourist and Tugo in Ho Chi Minh City, for their positive contributions and demonstrated significant potential for future development.
- In the "Program of the Year" category: The award went to "Let's Feast Vietnam visit Busan" - a fascinating journey filmed in South Korea featuring Miss Thuy Tien, streamer Misthy, chef Hoshi Phan, and food blogger Dino Vu, with its unique content and impressive tourism promotion effectiveness. In addition, in 2023, KTO expressed its gratitude to the agencies, tourism units, and corporate clients who have always accompanied and supported KTO throughout the year, including: the Vietnam National Tourism Administration, the Hanoi Department of Tourism, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, the Vietnam Travel Association (VITA), the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Association, the Da Nang Tourism Association, and Box Sports Joint Stock Company - an Esports development company.
Presenting the "Program of the Year" award.
Korea Tourism Commendation Awards:
- In the "Diamond Partner of Korean Incentive Tourism" category: Vietravel and Saigontourist excellently won the award and became Gold Partners of KTO in attracting large-scale incentive travel groups to Korea, with an extremely impressive achievement of registering 3,000 customers to receive support for trips to Korea.
- In the "Korea Tourism Awards Gold Partner" category: The award was presented to Thanh Cong Travel, International Golden Flight Service in Hanoi, and Sea Star International Travel and TST Tourist in Ho Chi Minh City for their achievement in registering over 1,000 customers for support with stable growth.
- In the "Silver Partner for Korean Incentive Tourism" category: The award was given to Skylines Travel in Hanoi and BenThanh Tourist in Ho Chi Minh City for their achievements in gathering large-scale tour groups and actively developing local incentive tourism products.
Awarding the "Diamond Partner," "Gold Partner," and "Silver Partner" awards.
During the 2023 Korea Tourism Night, KTO also outlined the tourism themes it is focusing on promoting, such as local tourism, Special Experiences in Korea (SIT), and luxury tourism. Notably, in January 2024, the Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games will be held at multiple locations in Gangwon Province with 15,000 participants, demonstrating Korea's capacity to host large-scale international events. Following on from 2023, KTO also expects even more outstanding achievements in 2024, making the 2023-2024 Korea Tourism Year a resounding success.
Poster for the Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympics
“The Korea Tourism Night is a meaningful occasion for KTO and its esteemed partners to reflect on the past year, and for KTO to express its sincere gratitude for the immense contributions of its partners to the development of Korean tourism in the Vietnamese market. I hope that KTO can continue to receive the support and cooperation from its esteemed partners, so that Korean tourism can quickly recover to pre-COVID-19 levels, Vietnam will always be a leading market for Korean tourism in Southeast Asia, and the friendship between the two countries will become even stronger, developing together not only in the field of tourism but also in culture, economy, and politics,” said Mr. Lee Jae Hoon, Chief Representative of the Korea Tourism Organization in Vietnam.
