"20 Million, Difficult but Possible" Yoon In-chon and Lee Boo-jin Discuss Strategies to Attract Foreign Tourists (Comprehensive)

First Tourism Event Hosted by Minister Yoon In-chon
"Full Effort to Develop Differentiated Content to Attract Foreign Tourists"
Lee Boo-jin: "We Will Communicate, Collaborate, and Work Hard with the Committee"

"During the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism worldwide almost came to a halt, and as it recovers, more domestic travelers who had been frustrated are going abroad rather than many foreign tourists coming to Korea. As of September, about 7.5 million foreign tourists visited the country. Fearlessly, I declared at the National Assembly that since next year is the Year of Visit Korea, I trust Chairwoman Lee Boo-jin and the related parties to attract 20 million visitors. It is a task until next year, but I think we should try our best."

Yoon In-chon, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, is delivering a greeting at the tourism strategy meeting held on the occasion of the '2023~2024 Visit Korea Year' at Sulwhasoo House in Bukchon, Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 13th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

Yoo In-chon, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, gathered wisdom from new lifestyle-related fields such as K-beauty, fashion, and dance to achieve 20 million Korean tourists together with Lee Boo-jin, Chairwoman of the Year of Visit Korea Committee.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced that Minister Yoo met with professionals from the beauty, fashion, dance, and tourism industries who are actively responding to the tourism demand of overseas tourists beyond domestic visitors at the '2023-2024 Year of Korean Tourism Strategic Meeting' held on the morning of the 13th at Sulwhasoo House in Bukchon.

Attendees included Lee Boo-jin, President of Hotel Shilla and Chairwoman of the Year of Visit Korea Committee; Kim Seung-hwan, CEO of Amorepacific; Lim Hye-min, CEO of Creatrip; Jeon Eun-jin, Executive Director of Jennyhouse; Park Jung-hyun, Head of View Plastic Surgery; Yoon Yeo-wook, CEO of One Million; Son Seung-woo, CEO of Fastlane; and Choi Jung-hee, CEO of Anderson Bell.

Lee Boo-jin, Chairperson of the Korea Visit Year Committee, is delivering a greeting at the tourism strategy meeting held on the 13th at Sulwhasoo House in Bukchon, Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the occasion of the "2023-2024 Korea Visit Year." Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

Chairwoman Lee Boo-jin said, "Seeing those who are working hard in various fields today, I truly realize how broad the spectrum of the tourism industry has become," adding, "I deeply appreciate everyone’s dedicated efforts to develop Korea’s tourism industry."

She continued, "As you may feel more on the ground, the knowledge and interest levels of foreign tourists about Korea are changing day by day. Together with everyone here, through communication and collaboration, the Korea Tourism Committee will strive to be of some help."

Minister Yoo said, "I worked in this field 15 years ago. Even then, when talking about tourism, I always used the expression 'industry without a chimney.' These days, that expression is less common. Back then, we proposed many ideas to grow tourism as an industry, and the conditions might have been somewhat worse than now. It was a time when the number of visitors to Korea was increasing, but the Korean Wave in all fields like K-culture, K-pop, and K-beauty had not yet blown," explaining the tourism industry during his first term as minister.

He added, "At that time, the main question was how to attract more overseas visitors. Most meetings focused on the MICE industry, attracting group meetings of large foreign companies, or introducing Korea through press tours rather than YouTubers at the time. I recall that the number of tourists increased to about 10 million then."

Furthermore, Minister Yoo emphasized, "According to surveys, the number one reason foreigners visit Korea is shopping. Food, shopping, music, K-beauty, and fashion are closely related to our daily lives. Although important, these areas have been somewhat neglected, so I think we need to put more effort into them. While we may not reach far, we have confidence that Korea can be a central hub in Japan and Southeast Asia. Today, I listened to representatives from these fields who face challenges directly on the ground, and I plan to strengthen these areas."

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Yoo In-chon and Lee Boo-jin, Chairperson of the Korea Visit Year Committee, are attending the tourism strategy meeting held on the occasion of the '2023-2024 Korea Visit Year' at Sulwhasoo House in Bukchon, Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 13th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

Minister Yoo said, "I used to think only art, music, and fine arts were cultural industries, but fashion, food, hair, and makeup are also important cultural industries. Once a boom starts, these become indispensable, and they are areas where Korea has the greatest strengths. I listened carefully and prepared events, meetings, and product development that can firmly secure overseas markets this year, hoping for some breakthroughs next year. I will listen to and reflect the vivid, living stories."

Regarding the changed focus and current issues of today’s tourism industry compared to 15 years ago, Minister Yoo said, "Strategic changes are naturally necessary. The environment has changed a lot, and there probably wasn’t much communication in these fields before. Now, we live in the AI era and in computer graphics, so the strategy itself must be completely changed. Although the MICE industry was often discussed before, it was difficult to actively promote it. Listening to these talks, it seems the tastes of foreign tourists have changed a lot to fit this era."

He continued, "Individual travel has increased; it’s no longer about flag-waving groups but about diverse individual preferences. Therefore, I think tourism strategies must shift to customized approaches. This meeting will serve as a place for diagnosis and research. Whereas before we dealt with large groups, now tourism must change to detailed, personalized strategies."

According to Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism statistics, 8.5 million overseas tourists visited Korea by October this year, and it is expected that attracting 10 million tourists within the year will be achievable. Minister Yoo encouraged industry stakeholders, saying, "Right now, we can only keep trying. Achieving 20 million next year won’t be easy, but I believe it is possible."

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