‘Cruise Tourism Revival’ Korea Tourism Organization Promotes Expansion of Inbound Tourism

Strengthening Product Development and Marketing for Korea Visits with International Cruise Lines

International cruise ships, which had stopped visiting the country since COVID-19, have made a comeback by docking in South Korea.

Visitors aboard the Amadea, which docked at Sokcho Cruise Terminal.
[Photo by Korea Tourism Organization]

The Korea Tourism Organization announced on the 13th that it held a welcome event for the German-flagged cruise ship Amadea (AMADEA, 29,008 tons) at the Sokcho Cruise Terminal. This marks the first time in three years since February 2020, when the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters imposed entry restrictions, that a cruise ship carrying travelers has docked in South Korea.

The Tourism Organization, together with Gangwon Province and Sokcho City, welcomed passengers and crew with traditional pungmul performances and a military band, while also setting up a Korean tourism experience booth inside the terminal as part of the welcome festivities.

Starting with this hospitality event, the Tourism Organization plans to firmly establish South Korea as a cruise destination through various collaborative projects. First, it has jointly developed travel packages to Korea with Silversea, the world’s top luxury cruise line chosen by global cruise travelers, ensuring that by 2024, the cruise will call at all five major Korean ports of call (Sokcho, Busan, Jeju, Incheon, Yeosu).

Silversea’s cruise packages to the five major domestic ports have already attracted over 4,500 advance bookings. Additionally, the organization is planning a Korea-Japan cruise route featuring K-content in collaboration with MSC Cruises. With the lifting of domestic cruise entry restrictions, it aims to expand the development of travel packages with various international cruise lines.

Port sales will also be conducted in the three major inbound cruise markets (Japan, Taiwan, and the United States). This year, the organization plans to promote cruise tourism by adding Seosan as a new port of call, expanding to six major ports.

At the world’s largest cruise exhibition, Seatrade Cruise Global, held in the U.S. in March, a Korean cruise promotion booth will be operated, and joint sales activities will be conducted with local governments, RTOs, and port authorities of the six ports. Following this, roadshows and briefing sessions for Korean cruises will be held locally in Japan and Taiwan.

Seo Young-chung, Director of the International Tourism Headquarters at the Korea Tourism Organization, stated, “During the cruise hiatus caused by COVID-19, we have prepared for the resumption of cruise tourism by discovering new specialized tourism content tailored to travel trends for each cruise port and turning them into tourism courses, as well as conducting capacity-building training for cruise industry workers. Based on the tourism resources we have prepared, we will actively carry out marketing activities tailored to the characteristics of cruise lines and travelers from North America and Asia.”