Culture ministry’s ‘Korea International Travel Expo’ prepares global leap

With international routes slowly opening again to travelers, and nearly one-third of the country’s population having received their first shots of a COVID-19 vaccine, South Korea is no exception in preparations to resume its once-halted tourism industry.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism with the Korea Tourism Organization on Monday jointly announced this year’s Korea International Travel Expo, set to kick off Tuesday at Paradise Hotel Incheon and via the expo‘s official website online.

The two-week exposition to be held until July 13 is designed to help the tourism industry explore potential markets that had been dampened by the pandemic, and to secure preemptive demand for future tours to Korea.

This year’s event will be presented both online and offline, divided into four categories: international meetings and conferences, travel and tourism in general, luxury tourism and medical and wellness tourism.

The opening ceremony on Tuesday will be livestreamed and feature two keynote speakers, Chang Chee Pey, the assistant chief executive of the Singapore Tourism Board, and Joanna Lumley, a British actor and TV producer. The two will appear via holograms to talk about ways of revitalizing international tourism in the post-pandemic era.

After the keynote speeches, drone shows and media facades will be showcased to introduce Korea’s night tourism.

Special features at this year’s event include a travel talk show session with K-pop boy band Ateez. In addition, autonomous sensory meridian response, or ASMR, content that uses high-quality sound recordings will be featured as a platform to showcase Korea’s traditional culture and cuisine in a unique and enjoyable way.

Throughout the exposition, relevant video consultation conferences will be followed by a series of online exhibitions and virtual tours. Various types of tourism packages designed by local travel agencies will also be on display for partners abroad to take a closer look at the options.

“This year’s Korea International Travel Expo will not only be an opportunity to spread the charms of domestic tourism, but also serve as a strong flare to boost the resumption of the tourism industry,” South Korea’s Culture Minister Hwang Hee said in a press release. Hwang expressed hopes of a positive impact on the domestic travel market through a head start on tourism sales at the expo.

By Kim Hae-yeon (hykim@heraldcorp.com)