KTO brings tourism stakeholders back on Tourism Global Challenge Alumni Day
Participants in the Tourism Global Challenge Alumni Day 2023, hosted by the Korea Tourism Organization, exchange business ideas during a session at a hotel in Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of Korea Tourism Organization
By Lee Hae-rin
The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) held the Tourism Global Challenge Alumni Day 2023, Thursday.
The inaugural event took place as part of its effort to create new tourism business opportunities and further promote cooperation among 150 Korean tourism stakeholders including companies, hotels, convention centers, tourism authorities of foreign countries active in Korea and investors who participated in the KTO's Tourism Global Challenge Program.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the KTO have been running the Tourism Global Challenge Program annually since 2020 to support tourism startups by providing them with the proven tools to develop marketability and business feasibility in Korea and overseas markets.
During the first session on Thursday, 44 tourism companies from a variety of fields, including accommodation, food, transportation and medical tourism, held one-on-one sessions, an event that helped participants exchange new business ideas.
The second session featured a talk concert, during which participants shared cases of collaboration and overseas expansion between tourism companies or between tourism entities and other industries. It was also a networking event, giving participants the chance to share various insights on the convergence of innovative technology and the in-outbound tourism market.
In particular, the talk concert featured industry leaders who discussed the issues and possible solutions with participants on how local tourism firms should prepare for the rapid growth of digitalization.
The KTO launched its first Korea Tourism Startup Center (KTSC) in Singapore last August to help 23 Korean companies seeking to enter the Southeast Asian market attract foreign investments, participate in tourism and tech fairs and build business partnerships in the tourism sector.
The companies include high-end accommodations curation platform Stayfolio, video-based online travel agency Tripbtoz and AI-powered B2B travel itinerary solution service Globaleur, all of which have shown progress in building partnerships with Singaporean organizations and companies.
KTO Senior Vice President Lee Jae-whan speaks during the Tourism Global Challenge Alumni Day 2023 at a hotel in Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of Korea Tourism Organization
“As the paradigm of all industries has shifted to an online-to-offline basis amid digitalization, chances are high that travel tech companies, based on innovative technology and creative ideas, will enter overseas markets,” KTO Senior Vice President Lee Jae-whan said.
“The KTO plans to give its full support for Korean tourism companies to secure competitiveness in the global market while strengthening the organization's role as a cooperation platform for the domestic and overseas tourism industries.”