‘Korea Tourism Grand Festival’ Held in Bangkok from Sept 30 to Oct 1
Various Events Including MZ Generation K-Style Experience Hall and Korea Tourism Night
Among Southeast Asian countries, Vietnam is the most visited travel destination by Koreans, but Thailand is the Southeast Asian country that receives the most visitors from Korea.
On the 27th, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced that, together with the Korea Tourism Organization, it will hold the ‘Korea Travel Festival in Bangkok’ in Bangkok, Thailand from September 30 to October 1, aiming to target Thailand, the top Southeast Asian inbound market for Korea.
A Hanbok flash mob event conducted by locals during the 'Love Korea Festival' in Bangkok in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic. [Photo by Korea Tourism Organization]
This event is part of a bilateral exchange program under the ‘Korea-Thailand Tourism Cooperation Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)’ signed by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of Thailand on September 23-24, marking the Year of Korea-Thailand Mutual Visits.
Thailand is the largest Southeast Asian inbound market to Korea, with about 570,000 visitors in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Thai Travel Agents Association (TTAA), Korea ranks as the second most popular overseas travel destination among Thais. Especially this year, Thailand’s outbound tourism market is expected to recover about 70% (7.5 million people) compared to pre-COVID levels, making it a market that requires more active efforts to attract Korean inbound tourists in celebration of the Year of Korea-Thailand Mutual Visits.
The ‘Korea Travel Festival’ will be held simultaneously at four major shopping centers in downtown Bangkok. The main event, ‘Korea Everywhere,’ will take place at Icon Siam, Asia’s largest integrated commercial complex. Targeting local Hallyu enthusiasts, the festival will feature a Korea-Thailand food experience event with five food brands including ‘Bibigo’ and ‘Geoljjak Tteokbokki Chicken,’ as well as promotions for regional festivals such as the ‘Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival’ and the ‘Daegu Chimaek Festival.’ Additionally, a large-scale joint inbound promotion will be conducted with nine airlines, two online travel agencies (OTA), and fourteen travel agencies.
The festival will also be held in the Siam area, a popular spot among Thailand’s 20-30s generation. At Siam Paragon, a ‘MZ Generation K-Style Experience Center’ will be set up, offering classes to experience various K-cultures such as K-makeup, K-fashion, and K-dance, along with personalized FIT (Free Independent Traveler) consultations tailored for the MZ generation. At Siam Center, active marketing of the ‘Top 100 K-Culture Tourism Events’ and the ‘2023 Visit Korea Year’ will be conducted.
At Emquartier, a shopping facility specialized for high-end demand, a ‘K-Luxury’ tourism pop-up store will be operated. In collaboration with Krungthai Card (KTC), a local state-owned company with over 3.5 million members, they plan to promote premium Korean inbound products worth 80,000 baht (approximately 3 million KRW) per person.
Korea and Thailand will also strengthen the exchange foundation between their tourism industries. On October 2, at the Capella Hotel in Bangkok, a ‘Travel Mart’ involving about 90 institutions from both countries and a ‘Korean Tourism Night’ event with around 250 participants including government officials and travel industry representatives will be held. GOT7’s Youngjae and actress Kim Sejeong, appointed as promotional ambassadors for the Year of Korea-Thailand Mutual Visits, will also receive their certificates of appointment.
On October 4 in Chiang Mai and October 5 in Phuket, a second-tier city tour ‘K-Tourism Roadshow’ will be held to build industry foundations. Notably, Chiang Mai and Phuket are regions where Srettha Thavisin, recently elected as Thailand’s 30th Prime Minister, has pledged to build new international airports.
Park Jong-taek, Director of the Tourism Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said, “This year marks the 65th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries and the Year of Korea-Thailand Mutual Visits, making the exchange between the two countries very meaningful.” He added, “Especially since the newly launched Thai government has shown strong will to revitalize the tourism industry, we will create enthusiasm for visiting Korea throughout Thailand through this event and recover tourism demand from Thailand, the top Southeast Asian inbound market.”
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