Ibu Jinho Visit Committee Executes Four Major Strategies for This Year's 'Visit Korea Year'

'K-pop, Beauty, Local, Hospitality' Strategies
Full-scale Promotion of Korea Tourism Year Campaign

The Korea Tourism Year Committee announced on the 4th that it will actively promote the ‘2024 Korea Tourism Year Campaign’ project to attract foreign tourists.

Lee Boo-jin, Chairperson of the Korea Visit Year Committee, is delivering a welcome speech at the '2024 Korea Grand Sale Opening Ceremony' held on the morning of the 11th at On Dream Society in Jung-gu, Seoul.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

This year’s ‘2024 Korea Tourism Year Campaign’ project, promoted by the Korea Tourism Year Committee, will continue throughout the year starting with the Korea Grand Sale event held in January. From the international airport arrival gates, the first gateway for visitors to Korea, to various regions nationwide, a warm and welcoming atmosphere for foreign tourists will be created.

First, the ‘2023-2024 Korea Tourism Year Welcome Week’ will be held again this year following last year. From April 26 to May 10 and from late September to early October (twice a year), welcome booths will be set up and operated at the arrival halls of four major international airports nationwide (Incheon, Gimpo, Gimhae, Jeju). While last year’s Welcome Week was mainly operated around major tourist points in Seoul, this year it will be extended to about twice the duration and held at the four major international airports, the entry points for tourists.

Through this, welcome messages will be delivered to more foreign tourists from the start of their journey, and more benefits for visiting Korea will be provided through collaboration with the K Tourism Cooperation Group. Foreign tourists visiting Korea will receive welcome messages along with multilingual tourism information, welcome kits (including discount coupons and souvenirs), and events using the ‘Korea Tourism Year Photo Zone’ will also be held.

Additionally, leveraging the high overseas interest in K-pop, from May to October, the ‘K-pop Playground’ (tentative name) event will be held about 10 times in succession at major tourist destinations and venues nationwide such as Busan, Gyeongju, and Jeonju to foster a nationwide welcoming atmosphere for foreign tourists and contribute to regional tourism revitalization.

This event will consist of a K-culture pop-up featuring a K-pop random play dance competition, which attracts high interest from both domestic and foreign participants, along with promotions of various beauty products and K-pop goods, a Korea Tourism Year commemorative photo zone, and experiential programs. To build excitement before the event, famous influencers and K-pop dance teams will participate, promoting the event online via SNS and other channels starting one month prior to increase interest and participation from both domestic and foreign audiences. After the event, online follow-up promotions featuring event sketch videos linked with local tourist sites and major festivals will be conducted to raise global awareness and interest in Korean regional tourist destinations.

Next, the ‘Korea Beauty Festival’ will be held throughout Seoul for one month in June. This private-sector collaborative complex event aims to generate tourism demand from the global high interest in K-beauty, including makeup, hair, and fashion. Joint promotions will be developed in cooperation with companies in K-beauty-related industries such as cosmetics, hair and makeup, and fashion to offer discounts, giveaways, and experiential benefits to foreign tourists.

Furthermore, through the operation of regional ‘K-beauty hubs,’ special experiential programs, offline corporate collaboration promotions within regions, and interpretation and guidance services for foreign visitors will be provided. This will expand the festival into a comprehensive K-beauty themed tourism festival offering total K-beauty experiences, including beauty-related discount promotions, hair and makeup, fashion consulting, and personal color analysis.

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Yoo In-chon and Lee Boo-jin, Chairperson of the Korea Visit Year Committee, are answering questions from the press after touring the Myeongdong Welcome Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 11th, when the 2024 Korea Grand Sale opened.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

To encourage foreign tourists to visit a wider variety of regions, specialized regional tourism products will be developed and operated. In collaboration with regional tourism specialized companies, tourism products tailored by region and theme will be developed and supported through to sales targeting foreigners. Through cooperation among specialized companies focused on regional tourism, periodic inter-company consulting, know-how sharing for product development, and joint promotion for sales on domestic and international OTAs will be supported.

The main themes will include content (culture, games, etc.), food (local restaurants), nature (fresh greenery, autumn foliage, snowy landscapes), and extreme (sports experiences, etc.), combining Korea’s culture, nature, and experiences. Through this, the plan is to lead the market to increase diverse tourism products that attract foreign tourists visiting Korea to travel to local areas.

In addition, safety travel guides will be distributed to provide safe travel without concerns and quick response in emergencies for foreign tourists visiting Korea. The ‘Safety Travel Guide,’ which includes emergency phone numbers and information on downloading the Emergency Ready App, will be displayed at GS25 convenience stores, international airport arrival halls, and Korea Tour Card (a transportation card exclusively for foreigners), and will be continuously expanded throughout the year using a public-private cooperation network.

The function of the private-sector-based ‘K Tourism Cooperation Group,’ established to successfully promote the Korea Tourism Year campaign, will also be strengthened. Currently, 113 companies and organizations participate in the K Tourism Cooperation Group. Starting with a project briefing session on March 13, quarterly regular meetings and thematic and industry-specific subcommittee meetings will be activated to expand participation in the Tourism Year campaign actively and to discover attractive K-tourism content and excellent collaboration cases.

Moreover, promotional marketing targeting major overseas markets will be conducted to provide various benefits and enjoyment to foreign visitors to Korea. Companies wishing to participate in the K Tourism Cooperation Group can find related information on the website.

Lee Boo-jin, Chairperson of the Korea Tourism Year Committee, said, “Through the 2024 Korea Tourism Year campaign, we aim to spread a welcoming atmosphere for foreigners and expand attractive experiential promotions based on K-culture to contribute to the revitalization of inbound tourism.”

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