The Korea Herald

지나쌤

KTO's revamped tourism service platform supports 8 languages

By Kim Hae-yeon

Published : July 12, 2023 - 11:17

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Captured image of VisitKorea website (KTO) Captured image of VisitKorea website (KTO)

The Korea Tourism Organization has announced the launch of a revamped VisitKorea, KTO's tourism information service platform, as an integrated marketing platform for Korean tourism in eight languages. The available languages are English, Japanese, simplified and traditional Chinese, Spanish, German, French and Russian.

Launched in 2008, VisitKorea showcases new and appealing travel-related content incorporating digital technologies to effectively promote tourism industries' latest products and services. The platform attracts some 15 million visitors annually.

The new service is divided into three main sections: "Plan your trip," "Where to go" and "Things to do."

The "Plan your trip" section features a personalized travel planner tab that offers optimized tourist routes, nearby accommodations, restaurants and travel tips tailored to visitors' scheduled visit date. It also provides useful information ranging from a brief overview of Korea's history and culture for first-time visitors to detailed descriptions of unique cultural experiences.

Under the "Where to go" category, visitors can explore more than 150 recommended tourist routes, marked on an interactive map that highlights key spots.

Specific travel destinations, photos and explanations will pop up when cities and regions on the map are clicked. Recommended trips presented by Korean celebrities and experts are also posted, including those by actor Lee Do-hyun from "The Glory" and coffee master Park I-Choo. Lee explores the old city center of Gunsan in North Jeolla Province, while Park introduces the best places to visit while enjoying coffee in Gangneung, Gangwon Province.

The platform not only supports travel services for foreign tourists based on the KTO's accumulated tourism data but also encourages collaboration between the private tourism sector with local governments to effectively promote travel ideas and products.

To commemorate the launch, various discounts, accommodation vouchers and music festival tickets will be distributed via online lucky draw events through Aug. 2. Special benefits will also be offered for those using the service to plan trips.

The KTO will regularly update events and programs while integrating IT technologies, such as AI chatbots, into the service platform that aim to serve as "travel secretaries" for international tourists.

The service can be accessed through the official VisitKorea website.