Korea Tourism Organization to host K-Tourist Festival in Japan

The Korea Tourism Organization announced on Thursday that it will hold a "K-Tourism Festival" on Apr. 21-22 in Hiroshima and Fukuoka, the key markets in the southwest of Japan. The K-Tourism Festival will be held at the Hiroshima HBG Concert Hall on Friday and at the Fukuoka International Convention Center on Saturday, each inviting around 1,000 local consumers. The festival will feature the non-verbal performance "SaChoom," a K-star talk show and promotion of the 2030 Busan Expo.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Hiroshima was the second-largest market for Korean visitors in the southwestern region of Japan. However, direct flights between Korea and Hiroshima have not yet been restored since the pandemic.

The Kyushu region is very popular among overseas travelers, with around 50% of them visiting Korea. The Korea Tourism Organization explained that it planned this event in advance to avoid overcrowding, taking into account factors such as the upcoming G7 Summit in Hiroshima in May and the Japanese government's decision to lower its COVID-19 infection risk level.

Meanwhile, before the main event, the Korea Tourism Organization held a joint campaign with the Busan Metropolitan City and the Kyushu office of the Japan Association of Travel Agents in Fukuoka to attract Japanese tourists to Busan and develop travel products for them.

Japanese travel agencies are responsible for attracting group tourists to Korea and developing travel products for them, while the Korea Tourism Organization and Busan Metropolitan City provide support for their promotions.

Write to Mi-Kyoung Lee at capital@hankyung.com