Saudi Tourism Authority rides from Seoul to Inje

연합뉴스 / 2022-06-29 11:19:12

▲ This photo, captured from the social media of Alhasan Ali Aldabbagh, shows Alhasan Ali Aldabbagh, Chief Markets Officer, Saudi Tourism Authority, falling for the Korean nature. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

▲ This photo, shows Alhasan Ali Aldabbagh, Chief Markets Officer, Saudi Tourism Authority, in front of Yeong Bin Gwan Hall of the Shilla Hotel. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

SEOUL, June 29 (Yonhap) –- Saudi Arabia's head of tourism toured Gangwon province on a motorbike and tasted traditional food.

Alhasan Ali Aldabbagh, the agency's chief marketing officer in the Asia Pacific, visited Korea to promote tourism in Saudi Arabia, and excitedly mentioned hwangtae (dried pollack) several times.

Followed by the press conference in Seoul on Monday, he is said to have left for Gangwon province to ride his motorbike a few days before various events including signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Korea Association of Travel Agents(KATA) and Hana Tour.

He rented a motorbike from "Ducati" and rode it from Seoul at 6 a.m. In just over two hours, he arrived at Inje and was fascinated by the scenery and nature of Korea spread along the national road.

Alhasan Dabbagh, who grew up in a desert was especially impressed with the waterfall he saw in Yongdae-ri, Buk-myeon, Inje-gun, Gangwon province.

He even wrote on his social media, "Amazing ride in South Korea from West to East coast. Beautiful spots, friendly people, clean streets, and most of all great riding destination."

After visiting Inje in Gangwon province and Naksansa Temple in Sokcho, he did not return to Seoul until 8:00 p.m.

The next day, at a meeting with the journalists, he said, "the hwangtae (dried pollack) I had in Inje was a little spicy, but was full of flavor."

As the Korean reporters informed him that the taste came from the process of freezing and thawing repeatedly in the scorching cold during the winter of Gangwon province, where it reaches -20 to -30 degrees Celsius, he was impressed. This is because it goes through a process that cannot be experienced in Saudi Arabia, a country with warm dry desert climate.

He also did not neglect his work as he passionately explained about Saudi Arabia's natural and cultural relics which were little known to Koreans.

The ruins of an ancient city called "AlUla" with a 2,000-year history built by the Nabataean civilization, which also built Petra in Jordan, are one of them. Until now, only Petra in Jordan was familiar to the Koreans, while little was known about the existence of such civilization in Saudi Arabia.

When asked why the oil-rich Saudi Arabia is working hard on the tourism industry, he replied, "One of them is to bring the world's diversity to Saudi Arabia and to improve the quality of life of the Saudi people by introducing Saudi Arabia to the world." He added, "One of the ways to understand the world better is to travel. We will make Saudi people visit Korea, while also making Koreans visit Saudi Arabia."

It is said that the last place that fascinated him during his visit to Korea was the Yeong Bin Gwan Hall of the Shilla Hotel, where a dinner commemorating the inauguration of President Yoon Seok-ryeol was held last month.