'2021 Seoul International Travel Mart' $8 Million Contract Negotiations... Achievements Amid Tourism Slump

278 Overseas Companies, 359 Domestic Companies Participate... 1,841 Business Consultations, 268 Contract Negotiations

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The '2021 Seoul International Travel Mart X Seoul Medical Tourism International Travel Mart,' held to revive the tourism industry weakened by COVID-19 and to secure the tourism market, achieved contract negotiations worth 8 million USD, Seoul Metropolitan Government and Seoul Tourism Foundation announced on the 29th.

A total of 637 tourism companies (278 from 40 overseas countries and 359 domestic companies) participated in this event, which was held both online and offline. To prevent the spread of COVID-19, business consultations conducted online recorded 1,841 sessions, of which 268 led to contract negotiations.

According to the foundation, 97% of overseas participants and 90% of domestic participants expressed satisfaction of 'satisfied' or higher with this year’s Travel Mart event. The possibility of future contract signing was also high, with 96% of overseas and 69% of domestic respondents answering 'high' or above.

At this Travel Mart event, trends in tourism and medical tourism markets in the post-COVID-19 era were shared, and tour programs such as K-POP and Hallyu, as well as medical tourism and wellness-related tourism like meditation, were actively discussed. In fact, amid the difficult situation faced by the domestic and international tourism industries due to COVID-19, this Travel Mart was evaluated as playing a significant role as a communication channel among tourism businesses.

Choi Kyung-joo, Director of the Seoul Tourism and Sports Bureau, stated, “In the unprecedented downturn of the tourism industry caused by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, I believe the Travel Mart has achieved very valuable results in building new networks with overseas buyers and business exchanges.” He added, “We will actively support rebuilding networking among domestic and international tourism industries through this event so that tourism demand in Seoul can quickly recover once travel resumes.”