KTO opens office in Istanbul

By Yun Suh-young

The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) opened a branch office in Turkey Wednesday, establishing a new base from which to conduct promotion in the Middle Eastern and European regions.

The KTO held an opening ceremony Wednesday to celebrate the launch of its local branch office in Istanbul, Turkey. Officials from the Turkish government and travel agencies participated in the event.

The KTO plans to establish a promotional network for Korea tourism with a base in Istanbul by introducing tourist destinations fit for families, long-term travelers and fans of hallyu (Korean wave), or to capitalize on the boom for Korean pop culture abroad.

The tourism office sees Turkey as a huge potential market from which to attract incoming tourists to Korea.

Korea and Turkey officially signed the Free Trade Agreement last month and is waiting for parliamentary approval in both nations. As Turkey is seeking new tourist destinations, the Korean market is expected to see more Turkish visitors following the ratification of the FTA.

Turkey showed the highest economic growth rate out of the OECD countries in 2010 at 9 percent and 7.8 percent last year. As the country’s economic growth rate is expected to remain high at above 6 percent every year until 2017, Turkey is considered a blue ocean for Korea in terms of tourists.

The number of Turkish visitors to Korea is increasing every year. Last year, 17,298 Turkish tourists visited Korea and the accumulated number over the past five years is 70,226.

Korean culture is becoming increasingly popular among the younger generation Turks due to the influence of Korean movies, TV dramas, and K-pop.