The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) has launched a sales initiative aimed at attracting tourists from key Southeast Asian markets, including Indonesia and the Philippines.
KTO announced on November 9 that from November 3 to 7, President Park Sung-hyuk led efforts in Jakarta, Indonesia, and Manila, Philippines, to establish strategic partnerships with local companies to expand the South Korean tourism market.
Demand for travel to South Korea from Southeast Asia is showing a significant upward trend. According to KTO, as of September this year, the number of Indonesian visitors to South Korea reached 330,629, marking a 23.4% increase compared to the same period last year. The Philippines recorded 615,141 visitors last year, ranking first among Southeast Asian countries, and has continued to grow by over 15.6% compared to the previous year as of September.
To maintain this growth and convert potential demand into actual visitors, KTO has established cooperative frameworks with local travel and airline industries. On November 4, KTO signed a memorandum of understanding with Traveloka, a leading online travel agency (OTA) in Southeast Asia. The two organizations plan to attract 300,000 tourists to South Korea over the next two years by leveraging Traveloka's network across five countries, including Singapore and Malaysia.
On November 6, KTO also signed an agreement with Cebu Pacific Air, a major low-cost carrier in the Philippines. The partnership aims to promote marketing linked to a large-scale K-pop concert scheduled for March next year in the Philippines, as well as to enhance the attraction of individual travelers and activate routes to regional airports.
KTO has also partnered with major financial institutions. It signed an agreement with Bank Central Asia (BCA), Indonesia's largest private bank, to promote tourism to South Korea and offer payment benefits to cardholders. Additionally, KTO has collaborated with BDO Unibank, the largest financial group in the Philippines, to jointly market family-oriented travel to South Korea. Notably, BDO is participating in a visa simplification program being promoted by the South Korean embassy in the Philippines and KTO, which is expected to enhance travel demand through financial benefits and visa convenience.
Earlier, KTO conducted similar sales initiatives in Thailand, Singapore, and Vietnam in July. During that time, it signed a memorandum of understanding with Singapore Airlines for joint marketing in the Southeast Asian market and agreed with Viettravel to attract 50,000 visitors to South Korea over the next two years.
President Park stated, "This sales initiative in Southeast Asia is significant as it connects local companies' close cooperation with actual travel demand for South Korea. We will expand the scale of attracting visitors through diverse collaborations with global companies, including major airlines, while also driving sustainable regional tourism activation and creating high-value demand for qualitative growth."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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