Korea ready to showcase strengths at WTM 2013

LONDON - Korea continues to grow in terms of tourist arrivals to the country. As of September 2013, Korea's global inbound visitor numbers were 9.3% up comparing to Jan-Sept 2012 and the tourism industry moves from strength-to-strength.

Korea Tourism will be actively promoting 'sports tourism' going into 2014 with the opening of a new 'Taekwondo Park' in Muju; a facility which will become home to the 200 million global practitioners around the globe. However, the park will be a place for all sports fans, athletes and incentive planners because the complex offers such a diverse range of facilities. The Incheon Asian Games and the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, further confirm Korea's status as 'Asia's leading sport tourism destination'.

Marketing emphasis of 'Recharging your Energy' takes many forms in our destination, from spas to temple stays and cuisine to hiking offering a unique cultural experiences combining to create a truly relaxing holiday experience. Medical tourism is another strand of Korea's prowess in health tourism and is forecast to become one of Asia's biggest medical tourism destinations based on growth in the last five years.

Korean Air, Asiana Airlines and BA continue to flourish through new competition on the route. BA's direct service from London to Seoul that commenced on the 2nd December, 2012 has been a successful addition to their route portfolio; so much so, that the airline announced it will increase its service to daily in the summer of 2014.

Korea Tourism Organization London office has been given greater responsibility within the MICE sector within Europe. New strategies include strengthening sales calls based on our accumulated MICE data; to continue to attract the mega international and association conferences but also to woo the small to medium-sized meetings. The incentive travel market will be approached through road shows and sales calls and this will be handled by our new partner Moulden Marketing who have been appointed to promote business events in Korea.

Jeju Island's status as a 'New7Wonder' of nature Korea's ten UNESCO World Cultural Heritages, provide a sound platform to encourage the 'fully inclusive tours' & 'special interest tour' market, using Korea's unique selling points as a major driver for inbound travel. China Links Travel is the latest tour operator offering four, seven and eleven day tours in Korea. The Cruise sector has also grown in recent years and our destination has eleven ports in Korea offering eleven different attractions and experiences.

Online marketing initiatives, social media and mobile apps are proving valuable tools when promoting all our key markets. Korean Tourism's App 'Visit Korea' v3.0 is now available. The newly upgraded app has a new design, a more user-friendly interface and loads of features! These include extended location based services, bookmark function, improved search functions, and now optimized for tablets.

Sourced: TravelDailyNews