Seoul City-Saudia Airlines Business Agreement to Expand Middle East Tourism Market... Joint Marketing Cooperation

60th Anniversary of Korea-Saudi Diplomatic Relations, Igniting Seoul Hallyu Tourism Promotion Using the Hallyu Golden Time

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Seoul Metropolitan Government and Saudi Arabian national airline Saudia announced on the 18th that they signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the 17th to promote tourism exchange and attract tourists between the two cities.

The signing ceremony commemorated the resumption of direct flights after 32 years since the Seoul-Saudi Arabia direct route was discontinued in 1990. The event was attended by Saudia's Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Korea, and the head of the Saudi Tourism Authority's Korea office, among others.

Seoul and Saudia agreed to mutually cooperate in joint marketing efforts such as promoting Seoul's unique tourism specialties including Hallyu, medical tourism, and beauty, as well as joint, partnership, and exchange advertising through online and offline media.

Seoul plans to take the lead in actively pioneering new markets by leveraging the golden time of Hallyu after the endemic phase, and to do its utmost to attract tourists from Saudi Arabia, the largest Middle Eastern inbound market, promoting the charm of Seoul as a city people want to visit.

Marking the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations with Korea this year, Saudi Arabia has shown high interest in Hallyu centered on K-POP and is fostering cultural and tourism projects as future industries at the national level. The cooperation between Seoul and Saudia is expected to revitalize exchanges between the two countries.

Choi Kyung-joo, Director of Seoul Tourism and Sports Bureau, said, “With the global popularity of Hallyu, the city of Seoul itself has become a competitive brand,” adding, “We will take this MOU as an opportunity to ignite Hallyu tourism promotion and make multifaceted efforts to publicize the charm of Seoul.”

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