Gangwon State, Sokcho City, and the Gangwon Tourism Organization (CEO Choi Sung-hyun) announced that the ultra-luxury residential cruise 'The World' successfully docked at Sokcho Port for a 2-night, 3-day stay from September 15 to 17, completing its schedule and setting sail.

This port call marked the official first-time sale and full-scale operation of a new themed shore excursion product developed by the organization utilizing regional specialized tourism resources. To present differentiated products capturing the unique charm of the Gangwon region, the organization collaborated with a domestic cruise specialized travel agency last year to plan and develop four customized theme products, and through close consultation with the cruise line, led their official launch on the occasion of the arrival of 'The World' in the second half of this year.

The three products showcased during this port call were designed to allow passengers to deeply experience the region's history and traditional culture, receiving favorable responses from passengers. ▲ Abai Village Cooking Class: A cooking class to examine the history of displaced people's settlement and make and taste North Korean-style dumplings together with the 1.5th generation of displaced people ▲ Naksan-sa Temple Experience: A temple experience of making Buddhist prayer beads and sharing tea and conversation (Chadam) sitting face-to-face with a monk ▲ Regional Craft Brewery Experience: A gastronomic tour of touring brewing facilities with a brewing expert followed by tasting fresh craft beer accompanied by local food.

A passenger who participated in the product shared their thoughts, saying, "Unlike general sightseeing where you simply ride a bus and look at scenery, learning to cook directly from displaced elders and drinking tea with a monk at a temple was a special experience that allowed a deep understanding of Korean culture."

In particular, this 2-night, 3-day stay served as an opportunity to achieve ‘night tourism,’ which was difficult during existing half-day (6 to 8 hours) port call schedules. Through night tourism products, passengers did not stay on board after sunset, but enjoyed experiences and gastronomy at local craft breweries, proving the feasibility of new shore excursion products tailored to the characteristics of stay-type cruises.

In addition, for the movement convenience of passengers and crew members who wanted individual movement during the stay, a separate circulation bus connecting major downtown areas such as Sokcho Tourism and Fishery Market was operated even during evening hours to support free downtown visits.

Gangwon Tourism Organization CEO Choi Sung-hyun said, "Thanks to the 2-night, 3-day schedule staying at Sokcho Port, we were able to operate shore excursion products broadly day and night," and added, "We will intensively propose such unique regional specialized theme tourism products for stay-type cruises arriving in the future."

The organization stated that it plans to collect and supplement feedback from passengers and travel agencies on this regional specialized theme tourism port call product, and introduce a more advanced product for the 3rd cruise scheduled to arrive in October.

[Copyright (c) Global Economic Times. All Rights Reserved.]