Busan, an International Tourism City, Targets Overseas Markets with COVID-19 Contactless Marketing
Introducing Autumn Travel on China's Ma Feng Wo, Japan's Asahi TV, Malaysia's YouTube...
[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] The charm of traveling to Busan this fall is being spread overseas through online platforms.
Busan City plans to broadcast a live "avatar travel" program this November through China’s largest online travel community, the "Mafengwo platform," targeting its main market, China, in collaboration with Chinese influencers residing in Korea.
Avatar travel is content where YouTubers experience and share stories about tourist spots or foods that subscribers want to visit or try on their behalf.
In Taiwan, a YouTube video titled "Cooking 123," featuring a local Taiwanese chef and a Korean chef jointly preparing Busan cuisine, will be produced and broadcast in October.
Taiwan shows great interest in Busan’s gourmet travel. At last year’s "Autumn Busan Gourmet Event" held in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, all 230 seats were sold out within a day of registration opening.
For the largest tourism market, Japan, a special Busan program titled "Busan, an International Tourist City of Scenic Views and Gourmet Food" will be produced in collaboration with the influential broadcaster Asahi TV and aired in October.
This broadcast will feature popular celebrities introducing scenic spots in Busan to female tourists aged 20 to 40 from the Kansai region and showcase Nakgopsae, a dish featured in the "Solitary Gourmet" Busan episode.
To prepare for the steadily growing ASEAN tourism market, an avatar travel content enjoying Busan’s autumn will be produced in October in collaboration with "Blimey," a famous Korean YouTuber popular in Malaysia.
"Blimey" is a channel created by three Korean female creators who gather travel recommendations for Busan from subscriber comments in advance, then travel on behalf of subscribers and share the joy of travel through online streaming.
Additionally, online briefings for the local Indonesian travel industry and local online promotions with Thai influencers are planned. Various promotional strategies are also being prepared in cooperation with overseas public relations offices to generate potential tourism demand.
Byun Sung-wan, Acting Mayor of Busan, said, "Even if people cannot visit Busan immediately due to COVID-19, we will continuously expose content that sparks interest and curiosity about Busan, so that once the pandemic ends, Busan will be a must-visit travel destination through our promotional marketing efforts."
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