The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Minister Yoo In-chon) and the Korea Tourism Organization (Acting President Seo Young-chung) held the 'Love Korea' event in Bangkok from the 22nd to the 23rd (local time) to promote Korean tourism, targeting Thailand's biggest overseas travel peak season, the 'Songkran holidays' (April 12-16).
Thailand was the largest Southeast Asian market for Korean tourism before the COVID-19 pandemic, with about 570,000 people visiting Korea in 2019.
However, the number of Thai tourists visiting Korea last year was about 320,000, and the recovery rate was only 56.7%.
This is interpreted as the effect of the weakened sentiment towards visiting Korea in Thailand due to reports of entry denials after the implementation of the 'Korea Electronic Travel Authorization (K-ETA)'.
In contrast, the favorability of 'K-culture' in Thailand is still high.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization organized this event to spread a positive image of Korea.
The event, held at Siam Paragon, a large shopping mall in downtown Bangkok, was attended by about 50,000 Thais, proving their interest in Korea.
The event featured a variety of programs, including a 'mini concert' on the theme of 'K-pop', which is popular in Thailand, a 'Korean Tourism Talk Show', and a 'Bibigo K-food Experience'.
In particular, events were held to strengthen friendship with Thais.
On the 23rd, Minnie, a Thai member of the girl group '(G)I-DLE', performed, providing a special experience to the fans gathered at the scene.
Many Thais also participated in the 'Excellent Korea Tourism Contents Awards' and the 'K-pop Dance Contest'.
Twenty-five organizations, including airlines, travel agencies, regional tourism organizations (RTOs), and global online travel agencies (OTAs), set up booths and held a special sale of Korea travel products.
Spring season tourism products such as ▲'Cherry Blossom Trip' in Gyeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do, the venue for the '2025 APEC Summit', and ▲'Canola Flower Trip' in Jeju attracted particular attention.
The two days saw about 3,400 consultations. The estimated sales, including pre-online sales, amounted to 1,520 million won.
Kim Jong-hoon, head of the International Marketing Department of the Korea Tourism Organization, said, "According to a survey on overseas Korean Wave last year, the favorability of Korean cultural content in Thailand is 83%, ranking third out of 26 countries. The Korea Tourism Organization will continue to expand cooperation with private companies by utilizing the high interest that Thais have in Korean culture, strengthen local marketing, and strive to recover local demand for Korean tourism."
Meanwhile, the Korea Tourism Organization is conducting a special promotion for Korean tourism in Thailand in cooperation with OTAs centered on Southeast Asia, such as 'Traveloka' and 'KKday', until the end of May.
The '1+1 air ticket package', which gives a free round-trip domestic air ticket when purchasing a Korean air ticket, is promoting visits to local areas in Korea by inbound tourists.
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