‘The modern and the traditional live side by side,’ says Seoul based Umi Do, assistant manager sales team with ETourism Co. ‘We encourage visitors to experience things like chilli pepper making and then using the chilli in a cooking class, or watching a Hahoe Mask performance or dressing in the Hanbok. They can slow down and take time to enjoy the traditional culture.’
Agents who attended the event gained knowledge of mixed theme tours, special interest activities and introductory tours. This comes at a time when arrivals into Korea from New Zealand continues to grow by about 10%. Hyeongjoon Kim, director of the Korea Tourism Organization in the Sydney office says 41,000 Kiwis visited last year and the predicted figure in 2026 looks likely to reach 45,000.
‘We know that a lot of people visit Japan and come to Korea for two or three days, but they come back and experience more.’
He says access is a key factor, with direct flights Auckland to Incheon with Korean Air and Air New Zealand as well as many other options, such as Jetstar from Brisbane or Sydney. Clients can also travel via Kuala Lumpur, Singapore or Taiwan and then fly direct to Jeju or Busan if they want to get straight into the regions instead of going via Seoul.
While customisation was a regular theme in presentations by five visiting DMCs (destination management companies), Yona Byun, general manager of Holiday Planners, was also promoting a guaranteed tour operating 24 times annually and suitable for first time visitors. The tour operates for eight days taking in highlights including Seoul, Songnisan National Park, Daegu, Gyeongju and Busan. For clients with a bit more time the tour can be extended to 11 days to include a temple stay, a visit to the DMZ and a short mountain trek in Seoraskan National Park.
Nancy Shin, president of Nancy Tours, highlights a K-Beauty tour with an emphasis on skin care and a K-Pop Demon Hunters experience. ‘K-Pop is not just for young people – you can still be young at heart and enjoy this.’
Jayden Park, director of Mimi Travel, says his company focuses on special interest tours such as education, pilgrimage / religion, and hiking. ‘I think the New Zealand market is looking for active and cultural experiences so agents could think about mixed theme tours.These could combine traditional stamp making, cooking classes, shopping in Seoul, the ocean life of Busan and the beaches and UNESCO heritage experiences of Jeju Island.’
Jacinta O’Brien, House of Travel; with Hyeongjoon Kim and Hoseok Seo, Korea Tourism Organization
Brooklyn Osman, Adair Cameron, both Red Hot by TAG; Jason Cho, Korean Air
Lisa Anthony, Wendy Wu; Flynn Cox, Travel Associates; Stephen Benfell, Corporate Travel Management
Minhyuk (Bruce) Hur, Arisu Korea DMC; with Jonas George and Rahul Sharma, both Exotic Holidays
Thad D’Souza, Jade Parkin, Andre van der Walt, all Flight Centre Albany
