"Summer Vacation and School Breaks in Korea" Tourism Organization's Campaign to Attract Chinese MZ Generation

Comprehensive Campaign to Attract Individual Chinese Travelers in July-August
100 University Students Visit Korea for K-Content Coverage

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization (hereinafter referred to as the Organization) announced on the 25th that they will launch a summer campaign to attract Chinese tourists this summer in collaboration with major travel platforms in China, targeting the Chinese MZ generation, which has become a key consumer group for travel to Korea.

Chinese university students are enjoying K-POP dance at the Korea Tourism Organization's Hiker Ground.
[Photo by Korea Tourism Organization]

According to the "2024 Chinese Travel Trends to Korea" survey released by the China Regional Center of the Korea Tourism Organization's Beijing office, the main consumer group for travel to Korea consists predominantly of women (85%) and people in their 20s and 30s.

The primary purpose of their visits was gourmet tourism (85.5%), followed by sightseeing (71.4%), shopping (67.8%), and experiencing the Korean Wave (42.9%). The main channel for gathering travel information was Xiaohongshu (93.7%). When purchasing travel products to Korea, 67% used the four major Chinese online travel agencies (OTAs) ? Ctrip, Qunar, Feizhu, and Tongcheng ? and the use of global platforms such as Airbnb and Agoda is also on the rise. The preferred destinations in Korea were Seoul (66.3%), Jeju (35.8%), and Busan (16.9%).

First, the Organization has been promoting a large-scale campaign since April in cooperation with OTAs popular among university students to attract Chinese university students during this summer vacation period. They launched a Korea travel membership card exclusively for university students in partnership with Tongcheng, which has about 10 million university student members, offering various benefits covering flights, accommodations, theme parks, performances, shopping, and other travel content.

Additionally, they are developing Korea travel products exclusively for university students in collaboration with major Chinese travel platforms such as Qiongyou, Hanyuwang, and Feizhu. Furthermore, around 30,000 university students holding individual tourist visas who have booked flights to Korea around the summer vacation will receive travel kits that include transportation cards and discounts for tourist attractions.

'My Own Winter Tourism Playground Opening' Departure Ceremony for 100 Chinese University Students.
[Photo by Korea Tourism Organization]

In particular, a campaign called "Opening My Own Playground for Korean Tourism" will select 100 Chinese university students to travel around various parts of Korea. Over 10,000 applicants from across China applied for this campaign, demonstrating the high interest of Chinese university students in Korea. From the 25th to the 28th, under the slogan "A Korean Trip to Find a New Persona (人生新副本趣???)", participants will enjoy Korea as their playground and promote new Korean travel styles unique to Generation Z through their personal social media. The travel itineraries designed by these Chinese university students will later be developed into travel products to Korea in cooperation with local Chinese travel agencies.

To foster a travel boom to Korea in China, the Organization is also collaborating with Xiaohongshu, the largest social media platform and the number one travel information channel in China. From July to September, they are running the campaign "Let's Have Fun in Korea (我去??撒??)" themed around the "freedom and spontaneity" that the Chinese MZ generation expects from Korean travel.

A special page has been created on Xiaohongshu to provide a comprehensive view of travel products, events, and promotions related to Korea travel. In connection with the campaign, on the 25th, 15 influential Xiaohongshu influencers with a combined following of 1 million will visit Korea and produce viral content over six nights and seven days, experiencing and recommending the diverse charms of K-tourism such as gourmet food and wellness.

Key visual for the Chinese OTA 'Tongcheng' university student promotion.
[Photo by Korea Tourism Organization]

Lee Hyunjin, head of the China team at the Korea Tourism Organization, said, "Through this summer campaign, we aim to highlight Korea as a destination for individual travelers as much as possible," adding, "We plan to focus on the MZ generation, which leads the trend of travel to Korea from China, to expand the attraction of individual free travelers."

To diversify destinations beyond Seoul for Chinese individual free travelers, the Organization is also promoting regional Korea travel products in cooperation with major Chinese OTAs such as Qunar and Airbnb, focusing on areas like Busan and Gangneung. To stimulate regional consumption, a Korea travel promotion themed "Busan City Walk" will be conducted in partnership with WeChat Pay, China's leading mobile payment service.

City Walk is a travel style that emphasizes "self-satisfaction" and "slow tempo" by exploring unique urban spots rather than famous tourist attractions, which has recently become popular among the Chinese MZ generation. Additionally, the campaign will promote the convenience of using mobile payments in Korea just as they do in China, encouraging consumption throughout Korea by Chinese tourists familiar with mobile payments.

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