'Creating the Second Middle East Boom with K-Tourism'... Korea Tourism Organization Holds Roadshow in UAE

K-Culture and Tourism Companies Fully Featured at Middle East Tourism Expo

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization announced on the 1st that they will hold the 'K-Travel Week' in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) until the 6th.

The K-Tourism Roadshow held in Saudi Arabia last year.
[Photo by Korea Tourism Organization]

From the 1st to the 4th, the Ministry and the Tourism Organization will open the Korea Tourism Promotion Pavilion at the Middle East's largest tourism expo, the 'Middle East Tourism Expo,' promoting travel products to visit Korea to major buyers from the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.

This event continues with the Korea-UAE Tourism Business Cooperation Forum jointly held with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) and the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism following the Middle East Tourism Expo, as well as the K Tourism Startup IR (Investor Relations presentation) and business agreements, and a K Tourism Roadshow introducing various K-culture to Middle Eastern audiences.

At the exchange event 'Night of Korean Tourism' held on the 4th, about 100 local industry officials and others will be invited to directly promote Korean tourism content.

On the 5th and 6th, the ‘K Tourism Roadshow’ will take place, offering various experiences of K-culture. Visitors can experience Korean cuisine and hanbok, enjoy beauty treatments and unique jjimjilbang (Korean sauna) experiences, and watch Korean films together with their families. The K-pop group ‘MCND,’ invited from Korea, will perform, along with ‘Seodo Band,’ which showcases a collaboration of traditional and popular music, and YouTuber ‘Toegyeonga Yakmeokja,’ famous for random play dance, will hold a random play dance event, providing a diverse range of activities.

Currently, the Middle Eastern market, including the UAE, is classified as a high value-added market in terms of length of stay and spending level for inbound tourism to Korea.

In particular, in the medical tourism sector, Middle Eastern patients have an average long-term stay of 28.5 days (compared to the average of 9.9 days) and a high proportion of family accompaniment, making it an important market for diversifying inbound tourists. The UAE is a country aggressively pursuing digital transformation and decarbonization policies in its tourism industry, making it a market where domestic tourism startups can lead innovation in the tourism industry through their entry.

Lee Jaehwan, Vice President of the Korea Tourism Organization, said, "By holding the first Korean tourism startup IR in the Middle East, we have laid the foundation for the tourism sector to lead the 'Second Middle East Boom.'"

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