SEJONG -- South Korean travel agencies have actively diversified their overseas deals in terms of offering trips to various new destinations over the past decade.

They have been competing to offer package deals for Eastern Europe involving Balkan countries, such as the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia and Croatia. In the case of Southeast Asia, they have strived to attract customers by providing tours to destinations like Penang, Malaysia and Da Nang, Vietnam.

Bracing for the 2020s, one of their main goals is to meet the growing demand for cruise tours, according to industry insiders.

Ocean cruise tours have already become popular among retirees -- among the popular destinations are the Mediterranean Sea and Alaska.
 

Kim Jung-ho, a tourist in his early 70s, said that “the scenic view of Santorini Island (in Greece) was a big gift,” adding that his second son arranged the first cruise tour for him and his wife in 2012.

Rim In-soon in her 60s picked convenience -- foregoing the need to check out every day -- and fast accessibility to seaside attractions. “It was incredible to see glaciers rise up in front of my eyes from the terrace of my passenger cabin. I was also able to visit the first Starbucks outlet in Seattle,” she said.

The industry is currently trying to induce more people to Nordic countries and Latin America.

Tourists on cruise ships can visit exotic locations, including the TV character village of Pippi Langstrumpf in Sweden, Songne Fjord in Norway and the birthplace of Hans Christian Andersen in Denmark. Traces of Abba, Ace of Base and A-ha can be also be found in Scandinavia.

Other port of calls could sometimes involve three Baltic countries -- Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania -- along with Finland and Iceland.

People who fly to South America for cruise tours can enjoy mother nature in Patagonia and the continent’s southernmost location of Ushuaia, Argentina. Rhythms of tango and samba in South America and rumba and salsa in Central America greet tourists when they get off the ship.

Kim Se-yule, the head of cruise division at Onlinetour.co.kr, forecast that deals for Scandinavia and South America will appeal to Koreans in the coming years.

“A large portion of my customers have already experienced trips to North America and Western Europe,” Kim said. “Long-term vacationers want to tap the antipode of Korea like Uruguay and Argentina or enjoy white nights in the Nordic region.”
 

In a similar vein, the route linking Miami, Key West, Yucatan Peninsula and Caribbean islands is emerging as a list of desired locations, according to industry sources.

On the other hand, some tourists don’t bother about destinations, but just want to enjoy various entertainment facilities offered on large-scale ships, said Oh Mi-kyoung, a former blogger on tourism-related matters.

She said that a core choice-point in the ocean cruise is the cabin grades -- from suites that have terraces to low-tier rooms that have no windows, whose price tags show wide disparity among four different cabin classes in general.

Industry insiders including Kim and Oh, nonetheless, recommend luxury cabins, citing the lodging period -- from at least for about a week to several weeks. They noted that the price gap for a same-tier cabin could be huge depending on the deals offered by different tour operators and cruise-vessel operators.

Meanwhile, Korea is also looking to reinvigorate the lucrative sector by opening the nation’s largest cruise terminal in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, increasing the number of terminals to five, in addition to two in Jeju Island, one in Sokcho and one in Busan.

Due to the lack of infrastructure, many Koreans interested in Asian cruise tours fly to Hong Kong or Singapore, regional meccas of cruise terminals.

Government officials and industry workers are pinning high hopes on the Songdo international cruise terminal in the nation’s western harbor of Incheon in terms of attracting both inbound and outbound travelers.

In addition, the Oceans Ministry is closely coordinating with China and Japan in a bid to develop routes for Northeast Asia and Pacific-oriented cruises.
 

According to the 2019 Cruise Trends & Industry Outlook, released by the Cruise Lines International Association, the ocean cruise market has reportedly grown by 68 percent in passenger numbers over the past decade. The number of yearly cruise passengers is projected to reach 30 million this year globally, compared to 17.8 million in 2009.

Globally, Americans formed a major portion of cruise passengers at 11.9 percent, followed by Chinese at 2.4 percent and Germans at 2.1 percent, according to data by Washington DC-based CLIA.

Britishers ranked fourth with 1.9 percent, trailed by Australians with 1.3 percent, Canadians with 0.9 percent, Italians with 0.7 percent and Spaniards with 0.5 percent. French and Brazilians are also in the top 10.

By Kim Yon-se (kys@heraldcorp.com)