Organizers of the Yeosu Expo have been put on alert since its 93-day run kicked off Saturday as the number of visitors so far is much lower than expected.
According to the Yeosu Expo Organizing Committee, the number of daily visitors stood at 35,394 for Saturday, 23,947 Sunday, 24,061 Monday, 39,379 Tuesday and 32,610 Wednesday. These figures are disappointing, as the committee had expected a turnout of 150,000 per day on holidays and weekends and 50,000 to 100,000 on weekdays.
Expo officials say similar expos overseas didn’t attract many visitors right after opening and hope that more people will come in time. Some experts attribute the lower turnout to people’s postponement of visits to the expo out of fear that too many visitors may converge in the early days of opening.
Yet these claims seem complacent as an opinion poll, conducted by Mono Research, said nearly 30 percent of respondents were negative about visiting the expo although two-thirds of them expressed an interest in it.
For the 93 days of the expo with the theme of ``Living Ocean and Coast,’’ organizers hope that more than 10 million visitors, including 500,000 foreigners, will view the attractions, shows and displays in Yeosu, some 455 kilometers southwest of Seoul.
Since the expo’s success will depend largely on the number of visitors, the organizing committee must heed criticism on problems and change the way the expo is being operated.
First of all, critics say there are insufficient promotional activities both at home and abroad. In this regard, the organizing committee should focus on attracting more foreign travelers, especially Chinese, through stepped-up publicity campaigns around the world. About 80 percent of foreign visitors on the first day were reportedly Chinese.
The distance from Seoul and its surrounding metropolitan areas and high costs are citied as the most serious barriers to the exposition.
To tackle the proximity problem, organizers will have to consider readjusting nighttime operating schedules for KTX bullet trains bound for Seoul. To lighten visitors’ burden, prices might have to be lowered. Tickets are currently priced between 19,000 and 33,000 won.
Of course, viable measures aimed at eradicating rip-off prices in restaurants and for accommodation should be applied immediately.