California wooing Korean travelers with undiscovered features

By Kang Seung-woo

As the outbound Korean market is fast growing, California and its major cities, one of the top tourist destinations in the United States for Koreans, have stepped up efforts to attract them.

And this time, they are appealing to Koreans with lesser-known attractions.

According to Visit California, 513,000 Koreans visited the Golden State in 2018, with the number being projected to grow to 545,000 this year. Taking a closer look, Los Angeles welcomed 335,000 Korean into the city and San Francisco saw 160,000 Korean visitors last year.

One of Visit California's hidden gems has been Sacramento, the capital of California that is little known to Koreans.

“Sacramento has a really great craft beer scene with lots of good microbreweries. Also, all the dining is farm to folks. Areas around Sacramento are a lot of farm lands and are very agricultural. Everything we get in restaurants is fresh and local and that's a source of pride for chefs in Sacramento to know who their farmer is and know who their rancher is,” Lindsey Guinn, Visit California's international public relations manager, told The Korea Times last week during its Asia Sales and Media Mission in Seoul.

“In addition, there is really good street art. Murals are all around the downtown area and something that the city promotes. Every August, there is a big mural festival called Wide Open Wall. There is a lot to do and it is kind of undiscovered.”

Alex Herron, director of international communications at Discover Los Angeles, said La La Land is about more than popular belief.

“Because a lot of Koreans have heard of Los Angeles, they have perceptions of LA ― maybe the sunshine, beaches and Hollywood. But we need to educate people that LA is much more than just these,” he said.

“We have more museums, galleries and theaters than any other city in the United States. We have the new Academy Museum of Motion Pictures opening this year, which is going to further complement the Miracle Mile which has Petersen Automotive Museum and Los Angeles County Museum of Art.”

Stressing that Los Angeles has one of the most vibrant culinary scenes in the U.S., Herron said, “We want to better communicate with Korean people to show there are so many more things you can do.”

Joyce Kiehl, director of communications at the Greater Palm Springs Convention and Visitors Bureau, boasted that the southern Californian city is a great place for health and wellness, to which Koreans are currently paying much attention. Among Koreans, it is usually known for its golf courses.

“We have natural mineral waters. We have one city that has over 20 mineral water resorts, so different opportunities for meditation and health and wellness such as outdoor yoga and a lot of hiking ― we have over 80 hiking trails in the destination,” she said.

Kiehl also said there are many outdoor adventures in Palm Springs, such as horseback riding, mountain biking and jeep tours in the San Andreas spot as well as the Aerial Tramway, the largest rotating tram in the world.

San Francisco's bragging rights are culinary attractions, according to Grace Cho of San Francisco Travel.

“San Francisco has now the most ― 57 ― Michelin-starred restaurants, with eight receiving the highest three stars,” she said.

Along with fine dining, visitors can also enjoy a variety of street foods as it hosts a street food festival in October, she added.