By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter
The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) will seek advice from foreign residents and Korean nationals in various fields as part of efforts to improve tourism, said the new chief of the tourism body.
Lee Cham, who recently became the president of the KTO, said Monday in his inauguration speech that the organization will adopt ``tourism supporters'' to strengthen the sector.
``Korea has plenty of manpower that can provide ideas and advice on tourism and on improving tourism resources; including foreign residents, those in academic, economic and cultural sectors, and citizens with a lot of travel experience. Such `tourism supporters' can work for local authorities, festivals and other events,'' Lee said.
The new chief said he will cooperate with local authorities and tourism-related agencies, such as Korail, to help the 1.2 million foreign residents better enjoy trips here, as they can be ambassadors for Korean tourism.
He also stressed promotion and marketing, especially for meeting, incentive, convention and exhibition (MICE) tourism. ``I'll play the role of `salesman' to help the nation host MICE, encouraging international companies and organizations to have their gatherings in Korea,'' he said.
The naturalized Korean pointed out that Korea's tourism industry is weak compared with its economic status ― the country attracted only 0.7 percent of the world's total travelers last year, or about 6.9 million people, and tourism accounted for 6.7 percent of the country's GDP, the lowest among OECD members.
``This indicates we lack a strategic system to boost the industry and that we have inefficient support. We also have unbalanced growth between inbound and outbound travels, with the latter being much bigger,'' Lee said.
He also said Japan beats Korea in tourism infrastructure, while China does so in price. ``The KTO's current efforts to improve information systems and accommodation facilities and educate travel guides are good measures to solve the problems. In addition, storytelling should be adopted in tour programs.''
Lee pledged to try his best to make tourism a new growth engine and Korea an attractive destination for travellers.