By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
An American travel accommodation manager expressed his bright outlook for the Korean market as Koreans are expected to visit the U.S. more freely in the near future.
Dan Besser, managing director of the strategic planning and business development Hilton Grand Vacations Club's Hawaii-Asia Region, said, ``With the Korean-U.S. Visa Waiver Program (VWP) likely to take effect soon, many market researchers including Hilton expect that it would allow more Korean people to come to various destinations including Hawaii and Las Vegas, where hotel companies provide their accommodation and customer-oriented services.''
He added that a string of Korean government's efforts to deregulate policies regarding investment in oversea real estate would help encourage Korean people to seek opportunity to use their money to buy real estate in other countries especially the U.S.
Dan, who arrived here on seven-day schedule, will attend several meetings with local researchers and real estate developers to assess the potential of the Korean market and needs of Korean customers.
Noting that the number of Korean travelers visiting Hawaii has sluggishly increased in the past, the Hilton's managing director said, ``The number of Koreans who traveled Hawaii in 2005 was around 50,000, up from 35,000 in 2004. But, we see the number surging when the VWP goes into effect next year.''
The Hilton Grand Vacations Club has been a subsidiary of the Hilton Hotel since 1993.
The company has developed time-shares in several locations in the U.S. including Orlando, Las Vegas, Hawaii, New York City and Colorado. It also has affiliation with other companies offering similar services in other countries such as Japan, Mexico and Scotland.