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| Seoul Metropolitan Government promotes the city's tourism with BTS. Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government |
By Kim Se-jeong
The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to roll out a new tourism promotional video Friday, featuring BTS, the K-pop group that made history recently by landing at No.1 on Billboard's main singles chart.
The video will be available on visitseoul.net, the city's official tourism website, as well as its other social medial channels at 5 p.m. on Friday.
Titled "See You in Seoul," the 112-second video will have each of the seven BTS members introducing seven attractions of the city which include cosmetic shops, inner-city walking tours, activities on the Han River, street food, nightlife, royal palaces and Dongdaemun Design Plaza.
"I hope the video will make those who want to travel feel a bit better while travel is restricted due to COVID-19. The city also hopes that when people start to travel again, their first destination will be Seoul," said Joo Yong-tae, an official responsible for the city's tourism policies.
It's not the first time the city government has worked with BTS. The group members became the city's tourism ambassadors in 2017 and were featured in other promotional videos. This year's video is considered particularly special because of their newfound worldwide success.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced Korea to close down its borders, hitting the tourism industry hard for Seoul which is the most visited place in Korea.
Last year, more than 8 million tourists visited Seoul, according to travel statistics. But this year's total, from January to June, was little more than 2 million.
Tours receiving inbound tourists were stopped due to the sharp decrease in visitors. Some businesses related to Seoul's tourism attractions have gone bankrupt. The numbers of tourists bounced back a little bit toward summer, but fell back again in August after the number of cases soared in Seoul and its metropolitan area.
To help businesses cope with the pandemic, the city government provided financial support for tour agencies and hotels in its jurisdiction. Also, the city created online tourism content to share with prospective visitors.
