S.Korea’s Jeju seeks to lure more Vietnam tourists

HCMC vice chairwoman Nguyen Thi Hong and Woo Keun Min, governor of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, at their meeting at the city hall on Tuesday

The island’s authorities will give $3,500 to travel companies for each tour they arrange, according to the Jeju authority.

A tourism promotion program by the Jeju tourism authority took place on Tuesday in HCMC with the presence of multiple local tour operators. In his meeting with HCMC vice chairwoman Nguyen Thi Hong, Jeju governor Woo Keun Min said one of his visit’s goals was to promote travel to the island.

Jeju, which is promoting itself as one of the world’s new seven wonders, will help finance many other costs such as on advertising, new product development and tour arrangements.

Between October and December in 2011, hundreds of Vietnamese traveled to Jeju a week on chartered flights. At present, Vietnamese people can enter the island under a visa-free travel scheme.

More Vietnamese visitors have come to South Korea in general and Jeju in particular. In 2006, only 46,000 Vietnamese visited South Korea but the figure in 2011 shot up to nearly 106,000, which was 17 per cent higher than the previous year.

The HCMC Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism said South Korea last year emerged as a popular destination for local travelers. It is estimated over 50,000 Vietnamese last year traveled to South Korea via Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCMC, a surge of 20 per cent versus a year earlier.

South Korea is also HCMC’s fourth largest visitor-generating market, so the city has had some tourism cooperation programs with the Korean side.

The Jeju tourism authority early this month signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the HCMC tourism department to jointly carry out tourism promotions. In the MOU, Jeju will help the local tourism sector develop human resources, train Korean-speaking tour guides and attract tourists from South Korea to HCMC.

The two sides will join forces to develop MICE (meeting, incentive, convention and exhibition) tours as well as encouraging travel agencies to offer tour buyers promotional programs besides many other activities.

The Jeju tourism authority this weekend will leave for Hanoi.