Targeting the No.1 Inbound Market, Creating a Boom in Korea Tourism
Focusing on Micro Luxury Travel and Gen Z University Students
The 'K-Tourism Roadshow' held by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization in Shanghai, China, to target the number one inbound market for visits to Korea, concluded with a warm response locally.
The scene of the Korean Tourism Night dinner event held in Shanghai, China on the 17th. [Photo by Korea Tourism Organization]
On the 20th, the Ministry and the Organization announced that they held the 'K-Tourism Roadshow' from the 17th to 19th (local time) to attract individual travelers from the Shanghai and East China regions, which lead travel consumption in China, and to create a boom in tourism to Korea.
First, at the Korea-China tourism industry consultation meeting 'K-Connect Travel Mart' held on the 17th at the Bellagio Hotel in Shanghai, 27 companies themed around 8 local governments, medical, wellness, performances, and special interest travel (SIT), along with 64 local tourism organizations participated, conducting over 200 consultations.
Yedan, product planning manager at Shanghai Mangguo Travel Agency, who attended the consultation meeting, said, "Recently, as more tourists seek special experiences or new tourist destinations, the demand for individual and small customized travel within China is rapidly growing. It was very beneficial to obtain various tourism content information and discuss product development through the consultation meeting."
Following this, a consumer event was held over two days at the Global Harbor Huanqiu River Shopping Mall in Shanghai. Under the slogan "Hallyu through the ages, a festival of infinite Korean tourism content," Hallyu content spanning all generations in China from the early days of Hallyu to the present was introduced.
The venue was decorated with diverse content including an exhibition zone of historic Hallyu dramas, a K-pop hit song listening room, a Korean travel character zone featuring 'Loopy,' an EBS character recently rising as a popular figure among China's MZ generation, and personal color diagnosis. The one-stop K-beauty experience, which included individual personal color measurement, color-coordinated styling suggestions, and lectures by makeup experts, attracted the largest number of visitors.
Regional tourism promotion targeting consumers from the East China region, who have a high revisit rate and many domestic flight routes to Korea, was also conducted. Popular cultural tourism festival experiences such as the Busan Beach Train, Gangneung Cafe Street, Boryeong Mud Festival, Geumsan Ginseng, and Daegu Chimaek were featured along with photo zones in major tourist hub cities. Visitors also gathered at the K-Food zone, where Korean companies such as Kyochon, Pulmuone, and Lotte Chilsung participated.
Overview of the consumer event venue at the China Shanghai K-Tourism Roadshow. [Photo by Korea Tourism Organization]
In particular, the live commerce for Korean travel products conducted in collaboration with China's largest OTA, Ctrip, recorded 810,000 simultaneous viewers, and over 30,000 visitors gathered at the venue over the two days.
The Korea Tourism Organization is also promoting campaigns to attract key target groups leading the Chinese outbound travel market, such as women in their 20s and 50s and Generation Z.
Earlier, on the 8th, the Organization invited local Chinese media and travel industry representatives to introduce small customized Korean travel themes for women, including wellness, art museums, and mother-daughter trips. Going forward, they plan to invite 20 Chinese female influencers representing various age groups to produce Korean travel content and continue diverse online and offline promotions, including developing premium women’s Korean travel products through contests targeting the local travel industry.
Additionally, a university student attraction project will be promoted to secure the promising future market of Generation Z. The Organization will collaborate with the Chinese independent travel site 'Qiongyou' under the theme '100 People, 100 Colors Korean Travel Playground,' inviting 100 local influencers to Korea to create recommended travel content. A dedicated Korean travel pavilion will also be opened on the Qiongyou channel, where local university students can complete MBTI- and hobby-based missions to receive benefits.
Furthermore, joint promotions targeting university students during the summer vacation period will be conducted with major Chinese online travel agencies such as Tongcheng and Qunar.
Seo Youngchung, acting president of the Korea Tourism Organization, said, "Recently, the travel behavior of Chinese tourists is rapidly shifting from group tours to small group travel with clear purposes. The Organization will quickly respond to changes in consumer trends by discovering appealing tourism content and promoting customized marketing."
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