'Visit Korea' Drive Kicks Off

Nov.11, 2009

Scanned photo by Dolce of BYJgallery (Thanks a lot)



Source: The Korea Times
11-11-2009 19:34

'Visit Korea' Drive Kicks Off

By Do Je-hae
Staff Reporter


Momentum for a three-year campaign to attract 10 million tourists to Korea is expected to pick up pace. The Visit Korea Committee (VKC) held the official launch ceremony for the "2010-2012 Visit Korea Year" initiative Wednesday at the Cheonggye Stream in downtown Seoul.

The event is the latest in a series of launch ceremonies the VKC has organized here and internationally. It held a large-scale promotional event in Tokyo last month and will hold another international promotion in Shanghai, China, on Nov. 24.

"We will vigorously pursue overseas marketing and develop incentive programs for foreign visitors," an official with the committee said. "In particular, we will actively engage the Japanese and Chinese markets and send promotional teams there." All of the activities will be conducted in cooperation with the Korea Tourism Organization, a co-organizer of the campaign.

Ultimately, the campaign is aimed at increasing the nation's tourism revenue to $10 billion and having Korea join the list of top-20 countries in surveys of tourism competitiveness.

More than 2,000 participants took part in the event, including First Lady Kim Yoon-ok, the honorary chairwoman of the VKC; Yu In-chon, minister of culture, tourism and sports; and Lotte Group's Vice Chairman Shin Dong-byn, who has been serving as the VKC chairman since last month.

The first lady has displayed a keen interest in the campaign aimed at nurturing Korea into a tourism superpower in Asia.

She met with actor and Asian superstar Bae Yong-joon, a goodwill ambassador of the campaign, at Cheong Wa Dae on Tuesday to discuss how they could disseminate the campaign to foreigners, a Cheong Wa Dae spokesman said.

Along with Bae, she agrees that Korean food could be a catalyst to boost global interest in Korea.

The first lady is currently leading a national committee for the globalization of Korean food. Bae is the owner of an upscale Korean restaurant in Tokyo.

Korea will also promote major international events to take place here in the next three years, such as the 2012 Yeosu Expo and the 2011 Daegu World Championship in Athletics, as some of the compelling reasons to visit Korea. The committee will also focus on attracting visitors to provincial regions.

Officials are hoping that the campaign will be an impetus for advancing the nation's tourism competitiveness. Currently, around 6 million tourists visit Korea every year.

The launch ceremony, held in cooperation with the Seoul City administration, coincides with the five-day Seoul Lantern Festival around the Cheonggye Stream area.

The committee launched its official Web site at www.visitkoreayear.com on Wednesday. Foreign-language versions will be up and running in January 2010.

jhdo@koreatimes.co.kr