한국관광공사 마닐라 지사 개소 [Korea Launches Manila Tourism Office]

MANILA, Philippines — Expect a surge of “Koreanovela” K-Pop (Korean Pop) themed events in Manila as the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) officially launched yesterday its first KTO satellite Manila office to further intensify South Korea’s tourism marketing promotions in the Philippines.

“The Philippines is South Korea’s Top Six market for inbound tourism, bringing in more than 300,000 tourists and accounting for 3.4 percent of the 9.8 million foreign visitors who came to Korea last year. The installation of our first satellite office in Manila assures us that these figures will grow even more,” said KTO President Charm Lee in a press conference before the KTO launching ceremony.

Now that the KTO has officially established its presence in Manila, the organization will diversify Korean tourism products for the Filipino market. KTO will also spearhead marketing activities like developing new travel packages, re-introducing the Korean culture through Korean culture nights and advertising campaigns that will cater to the demand of Filipino travelers.

KTO also aims to improve the image of Korea in the country by utilizing the media as well as social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.

“KTO will competitively strum up demand for MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions) tourism, medical tourism, gourmet tourism, ecotourism, experiential tourism and all kinds of trends in tourism in South Korea. We will also work closely with local travel agencies, tour operators and airlines to promote our packages which will be very beneficial to the Philippine tourism as well,” Lee said.

Last year, the Department of Tourism (DOT) reported that South Korea remains to be the strongest single market for inbound tourists with 925,204 arrivals, a staggering 23.62 percent share of its total four million tourists.

According to Lee, the satellite office aims to create a bigger platform for two-way business in the tourism industry between the Philippines and Korea.

“Until now, our relations with the DOT are not systematic. That’s why we opened a satellite office here. The last time I was in Manila, during the state visit of South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak, I met with Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez and several government officials and we agreed that we want to work in the future to promote exchange,” Lee said.

He added that although KTO is an organization of the Republic of Korea under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism commissioned to promote the country’s tourism industry internationally, it is still important for them that Koreans continue to travel abroad.

“We want more Koreans to come to the Philippines because tourism always goes both ways, it’s not a plusminus business. It’s always win-win,” Lee said.

The Korea Tourism Organization Manila Office is located at the 26th Floor of Tower 2, The Enterprise Center, 6766 Ayala Ave., cor Paseo de Roxas, Makati City.

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