Korea Tourism Organization Launches Full-Scale Marketing for Taiwan and Hong Kong Inbound Tourism

Resumption of South Korea Visa Issuance
Large-scale Travel Industry Fam Tours and Roadshows Planned for Second Half of the Year

Taiwan travel industry and journalists attending the Korea inbound tourism briefing session. Photo by Korea Tourism Organization

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] With the resumption of tourist visa issuance for Taiwan and Hong Kong visitors to Korea on the 1st, the Korea Tourism Organization announced on the 14th that it will launch intensive promotions to expand demand for inbound tourism.

Taiwan and Hong Kong were key tourism markets ranking 3rd and 5th respectively for inbound tourism to Korea in 2019, before COVID-19. Annually, 1.26 million people from Taiwan and 690,000 from Hong Kong visited Korea.

Currently, both regions still show strong enthusiasm for Korean Wave and Korean tourism. According to a survey conducted by the KTO Hong Kong office on the 23rd, 38% of participants expressed a desire to travel to Korea despite self-quarantine requirements. Major media outlets in Taiwan and Hong Kong focused considerable attention on the resumption of Korean tourist visa issuance on the 1st, reporting related articles daily.

In response, the KTO invited 10 journalists from local news agencies and internet media in Taiwan and Hong Kong to participate in a press trip to Korea from the 13th of this month for 8 nights and 9 days. Influential local media such as Hong Kong's U Travel and U Magazine, with 1.1 million and 570,000 social media subscribers respectively, Taiwan's state news agency Central News Agency (with 17 million monthly traffic), and UDN (with 2.5 million subscribers) took part in the press trip.

Participants showed high interest in the Korean tour despite having to undergo a 7-day quarantine upon return.

The KTO structured the press trip focusing on regional airports such as Yangyang and Gimhae, which are expected to be prioritized for new flight routes. The tour destinations were composed of the latest content targeting local consumers' travel sentiments, including safe tourism, open tourism, wellness, Korean Wave, and the DMZ.

In particular, new attractions such as Arte Museum, Samaksan Cable Car, Legoland, X the Sky, Lotte World Adventure Busan, and Gaya Theme Park are expected to draw significant attention.

Through this press trip, the KTO aims to secure travel demand from Taiwan and Hong Kong, where rapid tourism recovery is expected in the second half of the year.

Additionally, the KTO plans to implement comprehensive marketing efforts aligned with major policy announcements such as quarantine exemptions, including ▲large-scale press trips inviting travel agents and journalists ▲events to attract tourism industry representatives from major cities in Taiwan and Hong Kong ▲joint pilot product promotions with travel agencies and airlines ▲operation of Korean pavilions at the Taipei International Travel Fair (TTE) and Hong Kong International Travel Expo (ITE).

Seo Youngchung, Director of the International Tourism Headquarters at the Korea Tourism Organization, said, "Consumers in Taiwan and Hong Kong are lining up to obtain Korean tourist visas despite self-quarantine measures, and journalists are willing to endure a 7-day quarantine to cover Korea tourism, showing high expectations. Based on close cooperation with domestic and international industries, we plan to implement various projects to ensure the rapid recovery of these two markets."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.