culture minister-tourism
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| ▲ Culture minister Yu In-chon (L) speaks during a meeting at the House of Sulwhasoo Bukchon, a flagship store of cosmetics brand Sulwhasoo, in Seoul, on Nov. 13, 2023, to discuss strategy for boosting tourism. (Pool photo) (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ Lee Boo-jin (2nd from R, back), president and chief executive of Hotel Shilla, who chairs the 2023-24 Visit Korea Year Committee, speaks during a meeting at the House of Sulwhasoo Bukchon, a flagship store of the cosmetics brand Sulwhasoo, in Seoul, on Nov. 13, 2023, to discuss strategy for boosting tourism. (Pool photo) (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ Lee Boo-jin, president and chief executive of Hotel Shilla, who chairs the 2023-24 Visit Korea Year Committee, speaks during a meeting at the House of Sulwhasoo Bukchon, a flagship store of the cosmetics brand Sulwhasoo, in Seoul, on Nov. 13, 2023, to discuss strategy for boosting tourism. (Pool photo) (Yonhap) |
culture minister-tourism
Culture minister vows 'all-out efforts' to boost tourism
SEOUL, Nov. 13 (Yonhap) -- Culture Minister Yu In-chon on Monday pledged "all-out efforts" to attract 20 million foreign tourists next year, capitalizing on the global popularity of Korean pop culture.
Yu made the remarks during a meeting to discuss strategy for boosting tourism with Lee Boo-jin, president and chief executive of Hotel Shilla, who chairs the 2023-24 Visit Korea Year Committee, and officials from such fields as tourism, beauty, fashion and K-pop dance.
The meeting was the first tourism-related event presided over by Yu since he took office last month. It was designed to explore ways to turn the high awareness of Korean pop culture into demand for visiting Korea.
"The tourism industry faces significant challenges, as more Koreans are traveling overseas than the number of foreigners visiting Korea these days," Yu said during the meeting at the House of
Sulwhasoo Bukchon, a flagship store of the cosmetics brand Sulwhasoo, in Seoul.
He, however, expressed his strong determination to achieve the 20 million target for foreign tourists coming to Korea.
"The reasons why foreigners visit Korea are food, shopping, music, beauty and fashion," Yu said. "It is an area that we thought was important but neglected."
The number of foreign visitors to South Korea hit a record high of 17.5 million in 2019, according to data posted on the website of the Korea Culture & Tourism Institute, a think tank affiliated with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of visitors dropped sharply to 2.5 million in 2020 and 967,000 in 2021 before increasing to 3.19 million in 2022. In the first nine months of this year, 7.65 million inbound travelers visited South Korea.
Also acknowledging the shifting preferences of foreign tourists, who are increasingly opting for individualized tours over group packages, he stressed the need for a customized tourism strategy to cater to the diverse tastes of individual travelers.
Lee said she was impressed by the hard work of people involved in the tourism industry and pledged to work closely with the government to attract more foreign visitors.
Yu told reporters after the meeting that he was considering hosting a large festival or market next year that can combine hair, makeup, fashion and medical care.
He also said he was pushing Lee to take a leading role in attracting foreign tourists.
"I said we'll push her hard from behind if she takes the lead, since the Visit Korea Committee has a separate office," Yu said.
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