Highlights: Five new tourism hubs in South Korea, Korean Air’s new route to the Hungarian capital Budapest, shopping carnival in South Korea with attractive discounts across travel sector
Five new tourism hubs picked to expand tourist activities beyond Seoul
The South Korean government, as part of its strategy to spread the tourism revenue beyond capital Seoul, has chosen five cities as new tourism hubs.
The five cities – Busan, Gangneung, Jeonju, Mokpo, Andong – will receive government subsidies to attract foreign visitors.
South Korea’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Park Yang-woo said the government needs to develop new regional tourism hubs to attract more foreign tourists since about 80% of foreign tourists visit only Seoul when they visit Korea.
Busan has been chosen as an international tourism city, while the four cities have been picked as regional tourism hubs.
The government will inject a total of 15.9 billion won (US$13.5 million) for the project this year. Busan will receive 4.3 billion won, while the other four other cities will each get 2.15 billion won. The remaining 3 billion won will be used for promotion and consulting.
Each city will receive 50 billion won for five years until 2024.
Last year, the number of international tourists to South Korea hit an all-time high of 17.5 million, while 2018 recorded 15.35 million inbound visitors in 2018. International arrivals in the country have shown an overall growth since year 2000.
Korean Air adds Budapest to its network
Korean Air is winging to Europe with the launch of a new route to the Hungarian capital of Budapest.
The South Korean flag carrier will launch the three-times weekly direct flights from its Seoul Incheon hub to Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport on 23 May.
The route will be operated with an Airbus A330-200 configured to seat 218 passengers.
Korean Air said the launch of the direct service is timely: “Not only is there high travel demand for tourists, but also for businesses as many Korean companies are located in Hungary due to the Hungarian government’s investment policy in the car manufacturing industry.”
Budapest will be the airline’s second eastern European destination after Prague. It expects the new route direct service to reinforce its European network and boost its position in the east European market.
“It is great to see that there is yet another long-haul flight being launched from Budapest to Seoul in May. The market demand to and from Korea is considerable enough to support these three new weekly flights and the BUD team is fully committed to supporting Korean Air in what is sure to become yet another successful new route,” said-Kam Jandu, CCO, Budapest Airport.
South Korea on offer: Annual shopping festival kicks off
If you are planning to visit South Korea there is no better time than now as the Korea Grand Sale 2020 for foreign tourists is on until 29 February.
Organised by Visit Korea Committee this annual shopping, culture and tourism festival is offering foreign visitors discounts at about 1,100 retailers and service providers across the country. They include accommodations, transportation, food, museums and amusement park tickets.
Eight Korean airlines, including Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, are giving up to 95% discounts for about 100 flight routes to South Korean cities. Discounts on land transportation services are also available for tourists from outside of the country.
The committee said about 300 hotels across the country are giving up to 80% discounts, plus an extra 10% markdown for rooms.
There are fun events including special admissions to K-pop programmes, Korean cultural shows and gourmet tours.
The annual shopping event has been held since 2011.
Don’t just read the news. Join in the conversations on 22-23 April in Seoul at WiT Seoul 2020.
• Featured image credit (View of downtown Seoul at Dongjak over the Han River): tawatchaiprakobkit/Getty Images
