Korea yesterday announced it aims to double the number of inbound
foreign tourists to over 10 million a year and lift the global
competitiveness ranking of its tourism sector from 31st to within the
top 20 by 2012.
Under the strategy, the government will
intensively develop world-class sightseeing attractions, such as
eco-tours to the demilitarized zone separating South and North Korea,
and drastically reinforce the country’s tourism-related infrastructure,
including hotels and airports.
The tourism industry blueprint
was unveiled by a presidential commission on national competitiveness
during its conference presided over by President Lee Myung-bak at the
Blue House. Successful implementation of the tourism development plan
is expected to create about 390,000 new jobs in South Korea, despite
unfavorable economic conditions in the years ahead, the commission said
in a press release.
The statement noted the government’s
development scheme will be focused on increasing the number of tourists
to Seoul’s five major ancient palaces, creating large numbers of
hands-on traditional arts and culture programs, diversifying
sightseeing packages involving unique attractions like the DMZ, as well
as the eco-friendly Paektu Daegan mountain range, swamplands and other
ecological projects nationwide.
Notably, the government will
push for the DMZ, which attracts about 500,000 foreign visitors
annually, to be designated as a Unesco Biosphere Reserve, according to
the statement. It said the government’s tourism-related infrastructure
enhancement projects will include the construction of a new
international airport on Jeju Island, expansion of the existing Jeju
airport’s terminal capacities, additional opening of direct air service
between Seoul’s Gimpo Airport and major Japanese and Chinese cities,
simplification of visa issuance for Chinese tourists and tax reductions
for domestic tourist hotels. Jeju is the nation’s most popular tourist
destination, as an estimated 5.4 million tourists, including 500,000
foreigners, visited the scenic southern resort island last year.
In
October, the Korean government declared 2010 to 2012 as “Visit Korea”
years, seeking to attract 10 million foreign tourists a year and earn
$10 billion in foreign currency revenue in the first year of the
nationwide campaign. The campaign is the third such national promotion
following two previous campaigns in 1994 and 2001-2002. It is also
aimed at further upgrading South Korea’s status as a destination for
international tourists and its national brand. Yonhap
