Strengthening Local Partnerships in Southeast Asia to Boost Inbound Tourism, Says Korea Tourism Organization

Agreements Signed with Airlines, OTAs, and Financial Companies in Thailand, Singapore, and Vietnam
Expanding Inbound Travel with Flight Discounts, Local Tourism, and K-Culture Packages

The Korea Tourism Organization has launched a sales campaign targeting inbound tourism from Thailand, Singapore, and Vietnam, aiming for the early achievement of 30 million annual foreign visitors to Korea. The initiative targeted local airlines, online travel agencies (OTAs), and financial companies in each country.

Business Agreement Ceremony with Klook Held on the 15th in Singapore_Photo by Korea Tourism Organization. From left: Seonghyuk Park, President of Korea Expressway Corporation, Chuan Sheng Soong, Vice President of Klook.

According to the Korea Tourism Organization on July 20, President Park Seonghyuk visited three Southeast Asian countries from July 13 to 17, signing business agreements with key local tourism companies and discussing strategies to expand inbound demand to Korea.

In Thailand, the organization partnered with Krungthai Card (KTC), the country's largest financial company, and Thai Airways to launch a joint tourism campaign to Korea. The campaign will introduce discounted tickets to Korea, as well as K-beauty and wellness travel packages, leveraging KTC's customer network of approximately 3.7 million members to boost marketing efforts. Collaboration with fintech company TrueMoney is focused on benefits related to shopping and K-beauty for the 2030 generation, while a partnership with local travel agency Quality Express aims to develop regional gourmet products using Daegu and Gimhae airports, targeting 30,000 tourists over the next three years.

In Singapore, a business agreement was signed with global OTA Klook. Both sides will jointly plan products linking local festivals and regional gourmet experiences, and will promote regional tourism by utilizing creator programs. The organization will also conduct joint Southeast Asia marketing activities with Singapore Airlines and cooperate with Chan Brothers Travel to attract premium tourists, Muslim travelers, and MICE groups.

In Vietnam, the focus was on increasing airline capacity and developing regional tourism products. VietJet Air will run a Korean route discount promotion through September, while a campaign with Vietnam Airlines will target middle-class family tourists. Partnership with Vietravel will include development of tour packages connecting K-Vietnam Valley in Bonghwa, North Gyeongsang, with UNESCO World Heritage sites in the Gyeongsang region, aiming to attract 50,000 visitors to Korea over the next two years.

Park Seonghyuk, President of the Korea Tourism Organization, stated, "Strategies and execution tailored to the characteristics of each market are essential," adding, "We will strengthen collaboration with key local partners, such as global platforms, airlines, and financial companies, to expand inbound demand and promote regional tourism in Korea."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.