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KTO aims to attract 2.32 mil. Taiwanese visitors this year

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By Jhoo Dong-chan
  • Published KST
Korea Tourism Organization headquarters in Wonju, Gangwon Province / Courtesy of Korea Tourism Organization

Korea Tourism Organization headquarters in Wonju, Gangwon Province / Courtesy of Korea Tourism Organization

The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) is stepping up efforts to attract Taiwanese tourists to Korea’s central regions, launching a familiarization tour this week for travel industry professionals and media from Taiwan as part of a push to reach a record annual visitor target.

Taiwan accounted for 1.89 million visitors to Korea last year, making it the third-largest source of inbound tourists, and KTO has set a target of 2.32 million Taiwanese visitors for 2026.

The tour, to be held from April 16 to 21, is centered on Korea's central areas — including Gangwon, North Chungcheong and South Chungcheong provinces, as well as Daejeon — and is built around flagship content developed under a KTO Taipei office initiative designating 2026 as "Visit Central Korea Year."

KTO plans to use the tour to accelerate the development and commercialization of regionally focused travel packages. Business-to-business meetings between Korean and Taiwanese travel industry representatives will also be arranged to open new sales channels and expand bookings.

The initiative follows a sales mission to Taiwan from March 26 to 28 by KTO President Park Sung-hyeuck, during which he met with China Airlines — Taiwan’s largest carrier — to discuss expanding regional airport routes and linking charter flights to local tourism products.

At a roundtable with Taiwanese travel agencies, participants jointly signed a declaration pledging to work together toward the 2.32 million visitor target.

"Taiwan is our third-largest inbound market and a key market with a high proportion of visitors to regional destinations," Park said.

"We will leverage Visit Central Korea Year to drive demand and regional visits from Taiwan, and devote full efforts to reaching our target of 2.32 million visitors this year."

This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.