Supporting the Commercialization of Trips to Korea through 1:1 Matching between Domestic DMCs and Overseas Buyers, and FAM Tours in Seoul, Busan, and Andong -
The Korea Tourism Organization (President Park Sung-hyuk) announced that it has successfully wrapped up a Travel Mart (B2B business consultation event) and region-specific FAM tours after inviting 20 influential travel agency buyers from emerging markets in the Americas and Europe to Korea for an 8-day, 7-night schedule starting from the 11th.

This event was designed to provide practical business networks for entering the emerging markets in the Americas and Europe to domestic inbound-exclusive travel agencies (DMCs), which have faced difficulties in building independent overseas marketing networks, and to support the development of high-value tourism products to Korea. In particular, considering the characteristics of visitors from emerging markets who tend to have longer average stays and prefer experiencing local daily life and culture over visiting famous tourist attractions, the schedule was differentiated with FAM tours centered on customized Special Interest Tours (SIT).

Emerging Markets: Since 2024, the KTO has been operating emerging market promotion offices targeting countries and regions with high inbound potential. This year, it operates 10 offices in the Americas and Europe (Italy, Spain, Sweden, Benelux, Poland, Brazil, Chicago and Dallas in the USA, Canada, New Zealand) and 2 in the Middle East (Saudi Arabia, Turkey).
The core of the event, the '2026 Americas-Europe Emerging Markets Travel Mart', was held on September 17 at The Plaza Seoul. A total of 30 domestic organizations, including invited overseas buyers from emerging markets, domestic inbound exclusive travel agencies, local governments, and hotels, attended the event to conduct 1:1 business consultations. The KTO actively supported the domestic industry in pioneering new market paths by securing a total of 315 B2B consultations through pre-matching platforms and on-site voluntary consultations.

The SIT FAM tour, which ran from the 12th to the 17th, took place in Seoul, Busan, and Andong, Gyeongsangbuk-do, themed around the main interests of tourists from the Americas and Europe. Participants directly experienced Korea's diverse local contents, including ▲wellness (aroma oil therapy, temple stay), ▲outdoor activities (coastal walkways, Gwangalli Beach yoga), and ▲traditional culture (Andong Hahoe Village, dancheong craft). In particular, meeting times with local product development managers were secured in advance for all experiential schedules to lead beyond simple sightseeing to actual commercialization into travel packages to Korea.

Jung Seok-in, Head of the International Tourism Division, stated, "This event, prepared by directly inviting prominent buyers from emerging markets in the Americas and Europe, served as a decisive opportunity for the domestic inbound tourism industry to build a global network in these emerging markets," and added, "We will spare no post-event support so that the specialized contents discovered through the FAM tour and the overseas network connected through the Travel Mart can lead to practical product commercialization and results in attracting foreign tourists."

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