Korea wants more Filipino tourists this year

Some 337,000 Filipino tourists visited Korea in 2011, which accounts for 3.4 percent of the total number of 9.8 million foreign visitors to the Asian country. With these figures, the Philippines ranks sixth in the list of countries with the most number of inbound tourists to Korea.

The impressive tourism statistics was something Korea could not ignore. After all, the number of Filipino tourists to Korea is expected to grow at least 10 percent this year.

This is why the progressive neighboring country put up the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) Manila Office. The local KTO arm will be spearheading marketing activities such as developing new travel packages, introducing medical tourism, and launching advertising campaigns.

“Putting up a KTO office in Manila allows us to give a better picture of what Korea is and what visitors can expect to see when they get there,” said Charm Lee, president of the KTO, in a press conference. 

According to him, it is high time that they put up a Manila office as the agency celebrates its 50^th anniversary this year. There are 29 KTO locations in 18 countries around the world.

To celebrate the launch of the KTO Manila Office, a “Korean Night” was held recently at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza. An accompanying mini-travel mart was held with booth exhibition from several airlines flying to and from Korea, as well as theme parks.

“Korea has a special energy. It is a mix of ancient cultural roots a more modern, vibrant, and trendy culture,” said Lee, who was born German but has become a naturalized Korean since 1986.

Aside from creating more interesting tour packages to the ever more adventurous Filipino tourists, the KTO Manila Office is also expected to improve the image of Korea.

This is important, especially with the number of Korean tourists reaching 925,204 in 2011, which amounts to 23.62 percent share of all visitor volume, according to official figures from the country’s tourism department.

The KTO would also like to drum up more interest for MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions) events in Korea, as well as medical tourism and cosmetics.

“The beautiful thing about Korea is that it has four distinct seasons [spring, summer, autumn, and winter]. It keeps renewing itself. Every couple of months, it looks like a totally different place,” he said.

While majority of Filipino tourists remain to be families, Lee said they also have an increasing number of budget backpackers. According to him, many Asian tourists go to Korea to ski. That’s hardly surprising considering Korea has 27 skii resorts.