"30 million."
This figure follows Park Sung-hyuk, president of the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO). During his inaugural meeting, he set a target of attracting 30 million foreign tourists by 2028. While some have expressed concerns that this focus on quantity may overshadow quality, Park emphasized the importance of expanding the market size.
In an interview on July 28 at the KTO's Seoul Center, Park reiterated, "We need to create a market of 30 million." He explained that a larger market would lead to increased tourism infrastructure, such as airlines and accommodations, and would attract private investment. This surge in tourism demand would subsequently boost local consumption and investment.
Since taking office in early January, Park has traveled extensively across the country to observe tourism sites. His 30 years of experience in global marketing at Cheil Worldwide has given him a unique perspective on the tourism industry as a vast ecosystem.
Park noted that he has come to appreciate the complexities of the tourism industry. "From the outside, tourism seems like a joyful and happy industry. However, I found it to be a very complex sector intertwined with numerous fields such as aviation, accommodation, content, and services. It might even be more complicated than semiconductors," he said.
He emphasized that the growth of one sector alone does not drive the entire industry forward. Collaboration among various stakeholders, including airlines, hotels, travel agencies, content creators, transportation, and local governments, is essential. The concept of an 'ecosystem' was one of the first topics he introduced to KTO employees after his appointment.
"The KTO must play a central role in the tourism ecosystem. It is rare for a public institution to have a sales mission. The organization must now expand its role beyond promotion to include sales efforts," he stated.
Sales, Not Promotion: Growing the Market to Drive Infrastructure
Park is applying his private sector marketing experience to KTO's operations. "In the private sector, we do not simply wait for customers after building infrastructure. The most common feedback I received while traveling was that 'we need tourists to expand transportation and build accommodations,'" he said.
He likened the goal of attracting 30 million tourists to the center pin in bowling, explaining that a clear central goal is necessary for other achievements to follow.
The inbound tourism market is continuing to grow this year. In the first half of the year, 10.71 million foreign tourists visited Korea, a 21.3% increase compared to the same period last year. If this trend continues, it is possible that this year's target of 23 million could be reached, surpassing last year's record of 18.94 million.
Park stated, "I believe we will comfortably exceed 22 million, and personally, I think we can reach 23 million." He closely monitors indicators that reflect market changes, including the number of arrivals, the growth rate of regional airport visitors, international flight seat availability, and cruise arrivals.
Korean Tourism Must Charge Its Worth
He also addressed the challenges facing Korean tourism amid its growth. The most pressing issues are the concentration of tourists in the capital region and price competitiveness.
While Seoul faces concerns of overtourism due to large crowds, regional areas lack sufficient infrastructure for overnight stays. A significant issue is the practice of offsetting low-cost product revenues with shopping itineraries.
"Korean tourism must now confidently charge its worth. What we need is not a cutthroat discount competition but a competition based on overwhelming content," he asserted.
This year, KTO has established a new system for evaluating tourism services with public participation. A group of 50 inspectors, called the Nuri Salpimdan, has been selected to assess the readiness of major tourist sites across the country. The findings will be shared with local governments for on-site improvements.
Connecting K-Culture, Medical Tourism, and MICE to Enhance Regional Stays
Park emphasized the need to connect K-Culture, medical tourism, and MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) with regional tourism. The goal is to encourage visitors attending performances, medical treatments, or international conferences to experience the surrounding areas and extend their stays.
"K-Pop is now close to the mainstream. However, countries around the world are learning from K-Pop's production system to develop their own content, so we could face challenges at any time," he noted.
His proposed solutions include cross-selling related products to increase consumption and upselling to enhance service quality and customer spending.
Visitors should not just attend performances but also enjoy local cuisine, streets, and unique stories. This is why KTO is collaborating with entertainment companies to plan regional tourism content.
Medical tourism and MICE are also identified as areas that can increase regional stays and spending. Park stated, "The era when medical tourism was synonymous with plastic surgery is over." The scope has expanded to include serious treatments, health check-ups, and dental care, with medical tourists surpassing 2 million for the first time last year. KTO recently completed a roadshow in Central Asia and is preparing a briefing for Mongolian financial and mining companies in September.
Including medical tourism, wellness and beauty tourism is rapidly growing. Last year, spending in this sector reached 2.5662 trillion won, nearly three times the 928.9 billion won recorded in 2023. KTO attributes the increase in individual travelers (FIT) as a key factor driving this growth.
He recounted witnessing the impact of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) on the local economy in Barcelona during his time at Cheil Worldwide.
"I saw firsthand how MICE can revitalize a city. It can be a crucial key to overcoming the crisis of regional extinction," he said.
This year, KTO has established a collaborative system with eight regional convention bureaus, including Seoul, Gyeonggi, Incheon, Busan, Daejeon, Daegu, Jeju, and Goyang, and is creating a platform to share information about international conferences discovered abroad with local areas.
Expanding Access Through Airports, Ports, Cruises, and Ferries
In the realm of regional tourism, KTO is focusing on utilizing local airports and ports as gateways.
The 'Local Airport International Tourism Hub Task Force,' launched in April, is working to attract international flights and develop tourism products, using Cheongju and Daegu airports as pilot models. They have supported the introduction of 11 irregular international routes and 356 flights, with Cheongju Airport seeing a 109% increase in arrivals in the first half of the year, totaling about 62,000, while Daegu Airport recorded approximately 57,000.
"If tourists arrive at Cheongju Airport and immediately take the SRT to Seoul, nothing remains in the region," he said.
To prevent this, KTO is developing 35 ultra-regional tourism courses connecting the Chungcheong and Yeongnam regions and has identified 333 region-specific content pieces to distribute as marketing guides to overseas branches. KTO is also focusing on attracting tourists through cruises and ferries.
"The gateways to Korea are airports, cruises, and ferries. We are simultaneously enhancing these three channels," he stated.
Recently, negotiations were held with representatives of five ferry companies in Qingdao, China, and a new tourism council centered around Yeosu is being established. The regional tourism council that started in Cheongju and Daegu is planned to expand nationwide by the end of the year.
The 'Half-Price Travel' initiative, aimed at promoting local tourism, has seen about 200,000 applicants this year, with 81.2% of participants stating they would not have visited the area without the program. The digital tourism resident card also generated approximately 40.9 billion won in local spending last year. However, Park emphasized, "Promotions are merely a trigger for visits; the true power to bring people back lies in the content."
Tourism Ventures and AI: The Next Stage
KTO is assisting domestic tourism companies in expanding overseas through support centers in Singapore, Tokyo, and Bangkok, with plans to extend to Vietnam and Malaysia. "Overseas expansion should not be a one-time achievement. Establishing a sustainable revenue model locally is key," he said.
He expressed disappointment that there are currently no global unicorn companies in the domestic tourism industry. He proposed a 'Lifecycle Nurturing Master Plan' as a solution, aiming to integrate previously fragmented support programs into a systematic nurturing process.
Park emphasized, "We need a 'lifetime care' approach that connects everything from discovering companies to initial space and funding support, pilot projects through inter-company matching, investment attraction, and finally, support for establishing overseas branches."
KTO plans to share a blueprint for nurturing global unicorn companies at the upcoming tourism venture networking event, 'I-eum Week,' in September.
Park is also accelerating efforts in artificial intelligence (AI) and data utilization. The goal is to enhance the 'Data Lab' so that when users ask questions in natural language, AI can find and combine relevant data and present it in an easily understandable format. The beta version is expected to be launched by the end of 2027.
Additionally, KTO plans to consolidate various membership services under 'Visit Korea.' The integration of 13 B2C sites is set to be completed by the second half of 2027, with a goal of increasing the current membership from approximately 1.6 million to 10 million.
Park views the Data Lab and integrated membership information as core assets of Korean tourism. He believes that as data on tourist interests and behaviors accumulates, it will enable more sophisticated tourism marketing and personalized guidance. KTO aims to establish an AI-based next-generation integrated tourism information platform by 2028.
"As membership data accumulates, Visit Korea and the Data Lab will become indispensable assets of Korean tourism," he concluded.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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