KTO promotes Korean culture, tourism at Rotary convention

Two foreigners pose for pictures with models dressed as Korean king and queen at the 2016 Rotary International Convention at KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, Saturday. / Courtesy of Korea Tourism Organization

By Chung Hyun-chae

The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) said Sunday it has launched a cultural booth Saturday at KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, to promote Korean culture and tourism for foreigners participating in the 2016 Rotary International Convention.

The convention, where participants share their own success and accomplishments of service through lectures, performances and other programs, kicked off its five-day run which will continue through Wednesday.

The booth, set up at an exhibition hall called the House of Friendship at KINTEX, offers tourism information to foreigners as well as providing a variety of cultural programs.

“We hope our programs will attract more foreigners to travel to Korea and provide them with practical travel information,” Shin Ok-ja, convention director at the KTO, told The Korea Times.

At the booth, visitors can try Korean food and beverages including Korean medicinal herbal teas, have health consultation which could promote medical tourism, and take part in events related to the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games.

“Saturday’s most popular program for foreigners was taking photos at the special photo zone with models dressed as Korean king and queen while wearing hanbok, or traditional Korean clothes,” Choi Ji-hyoung, a convention assistant manager at the KTO, said.

In addition, official sponsors of the Rotary convention run their booths where visitors can look at Korean companies’ products and services.

Given that many participants tend to bring their family members and are highly interested in tourism, the KTO noted that the official tour programs for the convention have generated about 300 million won in revenue this month.

The convention organized two tour programs: pre- and post- convention tour program and half-day tour program.

The KTO expects 25,000 foreigners from 160 nations to attend the convention and visit the promotional booth.

“We have been actively supporting participants by delivering welcoming messages at the airport and helping them enjoy their travel,” Choi added.