Korea should develop customer-oriented, high-quality tourism to attract Chinese tourists, industry insiders said at a reception in Seoul last week.

The meeting, held at the Yido Dining restaurant and china gallery in Apgujeong-dong in Seoul, was part of year-round gatherings aimed at celebrating the 4 pleasures of seeing, eating, enjoying and talking through the 5 senses.

“The direction of China’s government policy is moving from economy to culture,” Yido owner Yi Yoon-shin said.

“To stand out as a desirable place to revisit, Korea needs to develop cultural products that are unique and unavailable in China.”

Over 6 million Chinese visited Korea last year, a 40 percent year-on-year increase. They are estimated to have spent about $13 billion.

As the economies of China and Korea become increasingly intertwined, any loss of Chinese tourists will negatively impact Korea’s economy.

“There is a whole new breed of Chinese upper-classes,” said Didier Beltoise, president of hospitality consulting firm CS. “They (choose where to) travel through word of mouth and the Internet, and are particularly interested in convenient shopping, beaches, local cuisine and fine wine.”

“For Korea’s tourism industry to survive, it is vital to follow the global economic trend, increasingly dominated by high-end tourism,” he stressed.

Noting that Chinese tourists were less likely to return to Korea than other countries, Beltoise warned that it was critical to improve the experiences of those visitors.

“Korea needs to create a sophisticated identity, offer high-quality travel options and invest in tourism infrastructure,” he said. 

David-Pierre Jalicon, chairman of the French Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that Korea should diversify its attractions throughout the whole country. “There are many undiscovered sights in Korea, which are interesting to foreigners. Korea has great potential in green tourism.”

Chinese tourist groups are becoming more fragmented and gentrified, observed Jalicon.

“Those I met in posh Chungdam-dong areas said they came there not to bargain, but to revel in the experience of window-shopping, strolling the streets,” he said.

Susan Lee MacDonald, media and communications professor at the Seoul Institute of the Arts, pointed out that websites were sometimes not user friendly to Chinese.

“The younger generations of Chinese tourists plan their itinerary individually and online,” she said. “But many Korean websites pose barriers to their research with cumbersome regulations and poor language services.”

MacDonald emphasized that developing user-friendly tourism infrastructure was crucial, and promoting the safety of travel in Korea for women should be actively promoted.

Vice-chairman of the Korean Association of Plastic Surgeons, Park Jae-woo, said that there were not enough hotels in Seoul, as visitors who come for medical tourism have to travel for hours from hotels on the city’s outskirts.

Chinese language services should also be improved, he said.

The second part of the discussion centered on raising entrance fees at attractions and museums.

“Compared to our national income level, the entrance fees have been too low for too long,” said chairman of Wearfun and Opera Gallery Korea Kwon Gi-chan. “The Louvre charges around 16 euros ($18), the National Art Center Tokyo charges near $50. Cultural benefits do not increase by virtue of affordability.”

Hanbok-designer Lee Hye-soon said Koreans should be more proud of their culture.

“Koreans have had a self-deprecating mindset about our own culture,” she said. “If we are proud of our own culture, we would feel more confident about promoting it to the world as exclusive and classy items.

“We first need an education that instills proper understanding and pride in our heritage,” she said.

The venue was organized by the Corea Image Communication Institute ― a nonprofit organization specializing in promoting Korea to the world. It holds seminars, forums and receptions aimed at facilitating inter-cultural communication and public relations.

By Joel Lee (joel@heraldcorp.com)