Korea Tourism Organization Targets European Market at Spain International Tourism Expo with K-Culture

Participation in the Spain FITUR International Tourism Fair from 18th to 22nd

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization are launching comprehensive promotional activities in the European market to mark the Visit Korea Year.

The Korea Tourism Organization announced on the 16th that it will participate in the ‘2023 FITUR International Tourism Fair’ held in Madrid, Spain, from the 18th to the 22nd, operating a Korean tourism pavilion.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization will participate in the '2023 FITUR International Tourism Fair' held in Madrid, Spain from the 18th to the 22nd (local time) and operate a Korea Tourism Promotion Booth.
[Photo by Korea Tourism Organization]

The FITUR fair is a large-scale international tourism event that attracted about 260,000 participants from the travel industry of 165 countries worldwide as of 2019. The opening ceremony is usually attended by the King and Queen of Spain, and Korea was invited as the guest of honor in 2020.

In celebration of the ‘Visit Korea Year 2023~2024,’ the organization plans to focus on promoting K-Culture and traditional Korean culture at this fair to increase demand for visits to Korea from European tourists, whose overseas travel is entering a full recovery phase after COVID-19.

Comprehensive Promotion of Korea’s Charm Centered on K-Culture to Mark Visit Korea Year

The Korean tourism pavilion will be located directly at the entrance of the Asia-Pacific Hall at the FITUR fair. The pavilion will be designed with motifs inspired by ‘the pure colors of Joseon white porcelain and the graceful curves of Hanbok,’ and will consist of zones for cultural tourism content, interactive screens, traditional Korean culture experience events, and consultation for Korean travel product promotion. A total of 17 organizations, including inbound travel agencies, national airlines, and local governments, will jointly participate in operating the pavilion.

Notably, the fair will feature VR experience programs and autonomous robots, showcasing K-tourism content equipped with Korea’s strengths in IT technology to engage overseas tourists in a more dynamic and interesting way.

Europe is the largest source region for outbound tourists, accounting for 745 million travelers or 50.8% of global tourists as of 2019 before the pandemic. Tourists visiting Korea from Europe tend to have longer stays compared to those from within Asia and are considered a high-value tourism market with strong interest in traditional Korean culture and K-Culture. The Korea Tourism Organization plans to actively develop the European tourism market, which is recovering inbound travel centered on Spain, through the FITUR fair.

Focusing on Spain as a Gateway to Europe, the Largest Outbound Market, and Latin America

On the 18th, the organization will introduce the ‘Visit Korea Year 2023~2024’ and premium traditional Korean culture to the King and Queen of Spain, who are scheduled to attend the FITUR opening ceremony, as well as key figures in culture and tourism. For general consumers, traditional games such as ‘Mugunghwa kkoci pieosseumnida’ (similar to “Red Light, Green Light”), made famous by the series Squid Game, will be available as motion recognition VR interactive games. Visitors will also experience various aspects of Korean popular culture through activities like making Najeonchilgi (mother-of-pearl lacquerware) grip tokens and Korean calligraphy. Additionally, the organization will focus on promoting Korean tourism through meetings with high-ranking UNWTO officials, major Spanish travel agents, and the media.

The Spanish market showed high potential with an average annual growth rate of 11% in inbound visitors to Korea during the three years before the COVID-19 pandemic (2017?2019). In 2019, the number of Spanish visitors to Korea reached 30,000, reflecting active tourism exchanges between the two countries. Furthermore, Spain serves as a gateway to the Latin American market, which includes inbound volumes exceeding 80,000 from countries such as Mexico and Brazil.

Lee Jaehwan, Vice President of the Korea Tourism Organization, said, “We expect a new paradigm to unfold in the tourism sector after the COVID-19 pandemic. Through the ‘Visit Korea Year 2023~2024,’ we will combine Korea’s rich cultural heritage with K-Culture and carry out comprehensive public-private cooperative marketing across aviation, accommodation, shopping, and dining to create a ‘Korea you want to visit’ and a ‘Korea you want to experience.’”

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