Chinese liquor giant Wuliangye sends 5,000 workers to Korea on incentive tour

International tourists shop in the Myeong-dong commercial district of central Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap

In a major sign of recovery for East Asia’s corporate travel market, the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) said Friday that it attracted a 5,000-member incentive trip from the Chinese liquor giant Wuliangye Group.

The corporate delegation, consisting of Wuliangye employees and regional distributors, will travel in two consecutive waves of 2,500 people. Departing from Shanghai aboard Adora Cruises, the first group arrived in Korea Thursday, with the second wave scheduled through July 3. The travelers are splitting their itineraries between the southern resort island of Jeju and the southeastern port city of Busan.

The breakthrough is the direct result of a hypertargeted regional strategy.

Recognizing that Sichuan and Guizhou provinces in southwestern China house six of the nation’s top 10 traditional liquor manufacturers, the KTO’s Chengdu branch launched a dedicated campaign focused on the region's prominent spirits conglomerates. Wuliangye, famed for its high-end baijiu, became the primary target.

The success also marks the first tangible dividend from a high-level corporate blitz orchestrated by the KTO earlier this spring. In March, KTO President Park Sung-hyeuck signed a strategic partnership with Adora Cruises, China’s largest cruise line, aiming to expand domestic port calls in cities like Busan and Yeosu while jointly courting large-scale meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) networks.

Local tourism authorities in Jeju and Busan are welcoming the high-spending corporate travelers with traditional "samulnori" percussion performances and welcoming delegations clad in hanbok, or traditional Korean attire.

"This successful attraction represents a significant milestone, demonstrating the recovery and expansion of China’s large-scale corporate incentive travel market," said Kim Hyo-kyung, director of the KTO’s Chengdu office. Kim added that the agency will build on this momentum ahead of a major Korea MICE road show scheduled to take place in Chengdu this September.

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