Korea aims for tourism powerhouse in Asia by 2020

Back in 2008, the Korean government unveiled a set of plans to spur the tourism industry. The global travel industry, however, struggled hard in the past two years, with the swine flu outbreak generating a particularly painful shock. Latest data shows that international tourism declined by 8 percent between January and April compared to the same period last year.

Despite the unfavorable external conditions, the government`s plans seemed to have worked, as the number of inbound tourists to Korea has topped over 7 million as of Nov. 23, setting a record high, according to the Korea Tourism Organization.

The upbeat figure is all the more promising given that Korea`s neighbors China and Japan saw a sharp decrease in the number of travelers. Moreover, this year is the first in nine years that Korea`s tourism sector has recorded a surplus of $320 million in the January-September period.

But Korea is in no position to be complacent. Compared with China and Japan, Korea is a smaller and less recognizable market for international travelers. Many obstacles are yet to be cleared before Korea can truly reposition itself as a leading destination for tourists.



A revised roadmap, which has evolved from the 2008 draft, was disclosed on Nov. 20. Under the new initiatives, Korea will ease domestic investment rules and foreign entry procedures with the aim of tripling inbound tourism - 20 million tourists - by 2020.

Culture Minister Yu In-chon presented the plans to President Lee Myung-bak, stressing that the country`s tourism sector has held up well despite the economic crisis but new strategies are needed to continue to boost tourism and stimulate investment.

The culture minister reported that new plans include lower land lending prices by up to 30 percent for firms developing tourism-oriented facilities and issuance of permits for new duty-free shops in the cities of Daegu and Yeosu, where international festivals are scheduled to be held.

President Lee said the most urgent task for the country was to improve and develop its cultural and tourist assets, as well as its safety measures, mentioning the recent fire at a shooting range in Busan. "Accidents happen in any country. It can happen in other countries, too, but we cannot have accidents that occur only in underdeveloped countries," the president said. "2010 must be the year when we can say we are changing, not developing our tourism industry," he said.

Coinciding with its 2010-2012 "Visit Korea" campaign, the government will hold seven large cultural events, including the Korean Wave Festival and the Global Food and Tourism Festival.

Culture Minister Yu also said the government is pushing for a bilateral accord with China to allow visa-free entry for tourists as early as next year. Under the proposed program, citizens of the two countries who meet certain criteria will be able to travel visa-free for up to 30 days.

The move comes as Beijing is getting ready to hold the World Expo 2010 scheduled for May 1-Oct. 31 in Shanghai. Once the visa-free initiative goes ahead as planned, the number of visitors between the two countries will go up sharply, Minister Yu said.

Jeju Island saw the number of Chinese tourists increase by more than five-fold last year from 2005 after it offered a visa waiver program. About 1.17 million, or 2.6 percent of outbound Chinese travelers, visited Korea in 2008.

The Korea Tourism Organization, with cooperation from the private sector, is to establish relevant task forces to develop and nurture tourism packages revolving around key images representing Korea: history and spirit; folk tradition, five major palaces, royal tombs and UN designated cultural heritage; economic growth; Korean Wave and stage performances; shopping and medical tourism; and theme tours like DMZ trips.

To promote the shopping tour, the government plans to implement a shopping certification system to heighten the quality of service and allow for before-purchase duty free shopping.

One of the new systems aimed at allowing easy travel around the country is the "Korea Pass Card," a transportation card that will hit the market in 2013 to link transportation services with accommodation facilities. One of the trial projects is to allow a 10 percent discount on transport fares and entry fees when a tourist visits certain tourist sites.

The government officials said the country`s "leisure culture" should be reformed to lay the firmer foundation for the tourism industry`s growth in the coming years. According to the Korea Leisure Industry Institute, the local leisure industry was worth 10 trillion won ($8.6 billion) in 1995 before expanding to 33.2 trillion won in 2007, helped by the introduction of the five-day workweek in 2004.

In a bid to reform the country`s leisure culture, top policymakers decided to encourage government officials to use up their yearly vacations. At the same time, the government is favorable to the adoption of a five-day school week beginning next year, phasing out the current system in which schools are open every other Saturday. The new policy will allow primary and secondary school students to have spring and autumn breaks in addition to their summer and winter vacations.

The government will also introduce educational tour programs for children from low income families and other convenience facilities for senior citizens and the infirm. The physically disabled and low-income groups will be encouraged to participate in tourist activities via special travel vouchers, buses and guides fluent in sign language.

Korea will also build new youth hostels and sports leisure centers near its four major rivers, in line with an ongoing large-scale project to dredge the rivers and create new parks along them. Developers of tourism-oriented facilities will be given discounts of up to 30 percent when renting land.

The new, comprehensive tourism plans come as Korea is preparing "2010-2012 Visit Korea Year." Last month, hallyu star Bae Yong-joon joined Korea Tourism Organization president Lee Charm at Tokyo Dome yesterday to promote the Visit Korea year campaign. The event was used to make appeals to Japanese to visit Korea by unveiling new tour packages and incentives for those who visit in the next three years.

The government plans to make good use of the Korean Wave, featuring Korean celebrities like Bae Yong-joon for tourism-linked commercials aired overseas.

(insight@heraldm.com)



By Yang Sung-jin