By Kang Seung-woo
The upcoming inter-Korean summit appears to have contributed to the local hotel industry, as well as reducing tensions on the Korean Peninsula, as it appears that more people are booking into local hotels.
According to the hotel sector, Thursday, downtown hotels in Seoul have attracted more guests, compared with the same period in previous years, raising speculation that the historic event may have helped increase guest bookings.
Today, President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will hold a summit at the border truce village of Panmunjeom and 858 journalists from 180 non-Korean media outlets will come to Korea for the rare event. This is double the number that covered the first summit in 2007, according to Cheong Wa Dae
According to the Westin Chosun Hotel, Tuesday, it was fully booked Wednesday, adding rooms for Thursday and Friday were also expected to be occupied.
“The reservations are picking up pace and we expect to see full occupancy on those days, as well,” said an official of the hotel, located near Seoul City Hall.
As of Tuesday, the Westin official said its booking rate stood at 90 percent for this month, compared with 78 percent from a year earlier.
The MVL Goyang in Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province, the only five-star hotel in the region, was also fully booked on the eve of the summit, thanks to its proximity to the KINTEX convention center where the main press center will be set up, Thursday and Friday.
“Such a full booking seems to be because of the inter-Korean summit,” said the hotel official in a media interview.
A Lotte Hotel Seoul official also said a number of downtown hotels are seeing higher demand for reservations this week.
“In general, the booking rate of hotels in Myeongdong is solid,” said a Lotte Hotel official.
However, the official added it is not easy to say the inter-Korean summit itself has contributed to the higher reservation rate _ although its influence cannot be disregarded.
“In general, guests on meetings, incentives, conferencing and exhibitions businesses and some state guests visit our hotel, increasing its reservation rate,” the official noted.
The Westin official also said she cannot jump to the conclusion that the guests for the period are all foreign journalists.
“From March, hotels have a busy season, so we have guests on group tours and on business,” she said.
“In this regard, it is not easy to predict.”