Establishment of First Latin America Branch in Mexico City on 25th
Opening Celebration 'Korean Tourism Grand Festival'... 20,000 Visitors Attend
The Korea Tourism Organization announced on the 27th that it has established a branch office in Mexico City, the capital of Mexico, as a hub for attracting tourists from Latin America, and held an opening ceremony.
Government and industry officials from both countries attending the opening ceremony of the Korea Tourism Organization Mexico City Office. Lee Hak-joo, Director of the International Tourism Headquarters at the Korea Tourism Organization (fifth from the left in the photo), and Heo Tae-wan, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Mexico (fifth from the right in the photo), are taking a commemorative photo with local industry officials. [Photo by Korea Tourism Organization]
The Mexico City branch, established on the 25th (local time), is the 32nd overseas branch of the Korea Tourism Organization, which operates branches in major cities across 22 countries worldwide.
The reason the organization established its first Latin American branch in Mexico City is due to the recent surge in demand for travel to Korea from this region. As of September this year, the number of tourists visiting Korea from Latin America reached 97,212, surpassing the pre-pandemic record of 96,211 in 2019, setting a new all-time high.
Mexico, selected as the hub for the Latin American market, shows a high growth rate, accounting for 34% (33,942 people) of Latin American tourists visiting Korea. In fact, since the national airline AeroMexico began operating a direct flight route between Incheon and Mexico City in August, the monthly average number of tourists visiting Korea has approached 10,000, maintaining a steep upward trend.
Mexicans enjoying the Korea Tourism Grand Festival held in downtown Mexico City. [Photo by Korea Tourism Organization]
To commemorate the opening of the Mexico City branch, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization held the "Korea Tourism Festival (Festival Turistico de Corea 2024)" at the Oasis, a large shopping mall in Mexico City, on the 23rd and 24th. The event, themed "The Wave of Hallyu Meets Mexico (La Ola Hallyu en M?xico)," featured promotional booths for Korean tourism with various themes such as sports and wellness, as well as booths promoting travel packages to Korea.
Additionally, in collaboration with the largest local travel agency, Julia Tours, various Korean travel products were showcased. The event attracted about 20,000 people with diverse programs including a talk show by K-pop artist Jung Jinwoon (2AM), a performance by the fusion gugak group ‘Lin,’ and a celebratory performance by Painters Hero.
On the 23rd, the Korea Tourism Organization signed a business agreement with ‘Munmuwon Mudeokgwan,’ which operates over 450 Taekwondo dojangs across Mexico. They plan to cooperate to expand inbound tourism from Taekwondo training groups in the future.
Lee Hakju, Director of the International Tourism Headquarters at the Korea Tourism Organization, said, “Mexico is expected to be the first country in Latin America to surpass 100,000 annual visitors to Korea by 2025.” He added, “We plan to implement strategic marketing targeting local affluent groups, Hallyu fans, and student groups by utilizing themed tourism products such as educational travel and sports tourism.”
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