Home shopping channels to begin US-NK summit tour program

U.S. President Donald Trump walks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa Island in Singapore, Tuesday. / Reuters-Yonhap

By Nam Hyun-woo

Global attention on the summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore has prompted home shopping channels here to plan tour packages featuring venues of the historic meeting.

According to GS Shop, Thursday, the home shopping company's travel merchandisers are trying to block-group air tickets to Singapore, which is a condition before releasing a tour program.

This means reserving airline seats but not paying for them immediately, which is usually done by travel agents for group tourists.

Securing a bloc of seats is the key task before establishing the tour package, a GS Shop official said.

“When we succeed in blocking air tickets to Singapore, airing such a tour package would be a matter of time,” she said.

Though GS Shop is yet to fix tour schedules, tour programs will likely include visits to Sentosa Island and the Capella Hotel, the summit's location; the St. Regis Singapore Hotel, where Kim stayed, and the Shangri-La Hotel, where Trump stayed.

Also included could be the landmark Marina Bay Sands Hotel, which Kim visited before the summit, and several other sites of interest in Singapore.

“Singapore has not been our favorite tour program so far, while most of our products are travel packages to Europe or Southeast Asia,” the official said. “After the U.S.-North Korea summit, interest in Singapore is increasing among domestic consumers, which gives us a good chance to begin tour programs featuring the key places of the summit.”

Rival Lotte Home Shopping has aired a Singapore tour program twice this year and plans to broadcast the program again, while Hyundai Home Shopping is also preparing to initiate tour programs to Singapore.

Domestic home shopping firms have been selling tour programs in line with trending TV shows.

Tour packages to Quebec became popular after the TV drama “Guardian: The Lonely and Great God” hit its stride. Travel reality shows “Grandpas Over Flowers,” “Sisters Over Flowers” and “Youth Over Flowers” have led home shopping firms to establish European tour products, while TV shows on Southeast Asian travel are also popular.

“This will be a rare case that home shopping firms start tour programs on the heels of a political event,” the official said. “With Singapore tours, we are looking forward to seeing an expansion in our customer base.”