Relax - Korea posts record tourist numbers

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Korea posts record tourist numbers

By Song Woong-ki, The Korea Herald/ANN | Tue, Nov 24 2009

Surge in foreign tourists is largely attributed to won's fall against other the currencies.

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tourism

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Despite a grim outlook in the global travel industry, the number of inbound tourists to Korea has topped 7 million as of yesterday, setting a record high. While China and Japan saw a sharp decrease, Korea saw a 14 percent increase from an estimated 6 million last November, according to the report released by the Korea Tourism Organization.

The surge in foreign tourists is largely attributed to won's fall against other the currencies - making the country an attractive destination for shopping and other activities - and overseas promotion efforts by the government. The KTO won a number of marketing awards, including China's 2009 Voyage Travel Brand Annual Award.

The 7 million mark comes four years after the country achieved 6 million and is a two-fold increase from 1994. The KTO expects the number of foreign tourists to reach 7.8 million by the year's end.

The news should please industry insiders, as their report confounds the negative projection made by the United Nations World Tourism Organization earlier this year.

This pessimistic outlook largely stemmed from a combination of the worldwide economic recession and the H1N1 flu pandemic, which hit the industry hard.

The world tourism organization had posted disparaging figures projecting a 6 percent decrease in tourism throughout the Asian region for the entire year.

According to the June edition of the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, international tourism declined by 8 percent between January and April compared to the same period last year.

Destinations around the world recorded 247 million tourist arrivals in those four months - down from 269 million in 2008.

This year is the first in nine years that Korea's tourism sector has recorded a surplus, while most other countries experienced tourism setbacks.

Japan recorded a 25.3 percent drop in the number of foreign visitors, China 14.2 percent and the United Kingdom 9 percent.

The KTO attributes the increase in foreign visitors in Korea to the current administration's aggressive overseas marketing.

"In our efforts to leap forward into the G7 as a major player in tourism, we are continuing to strengthen our tourism infrastructure and develop premium travel packages in order to meet our goal of attracting 10 million annual visitors by 2012," said Na Sang-hoon, Director of the KTO Marketing Strategy Team.

The "Visit Korea Year(s) 2010-2012" is one such event. It began earlier this month as part of the government's efforts to further boost awareness of the country as a potential travel destination for foreign tourists.

A large part of the increase has been visitors from China and Japan together make up more than 60 percent of the total number of visitors this year.

An estimated 2.75 million Japanese tourists have visited so far this year, taking up 39.4 percent of the total thanks in large part to a weakened won.

They were followed by Chinese tourists with 17.3 percent and American tourists with 7.9 percent.

Visitors from China are expected to increase in the future with both nations pushing for a bilateral accord that would allow visa-free entry for Chinese tourists as early as next year.

The KTO is aiming to draw about 10 million inbound tourists annually by 2012.

-The Korea Herald/Asia News Network