Korea Tourism Association(KTA) hosted a New Year’s reception for the 

tourism industry at Lotte Hotel in downtown Seoul, on Jan. 8 with some 1,000 

tourism industry people, related government officials, legislators and some 

foreign diplomats in Seoul attending led by Minister Yoo Jin-ryong of the 

Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and KTA Chairman Nam 

Sang-man.(Photo:Courtesy of KTA)

The Korea Tourism Association (KTA) held its “New Year’s Reception for Tourism People” at the Lotte Hotel in downtown Seoul on Jan. 8 with some 1,000 people attending including ministers of the related government ministries, executives of related industries and tourist firms led by Minister Yoo Jin-ryong of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Chairman Nam Sang-man of the KTA. 

Chairman Nam Sang-man of KTA delivers his New Year’s speech at the reception.

Also present at the event included Rep. Shin Hak-yong, chairman of the National Assembly Culture, Education, Sports and Tourism Committee, Chairman Do Young-shim of the UNWTO St-EP Foundation, Acting President Kang Ki-yong of the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), a number of foreign diplomats stationed in Seoul, leaders from the business and financial communities, among others. 

The theme of the event, “More, Wider, and Happier,” was designed to urge the tourism industry to attract more foreign tourists, increase travel days for the people in the country, increase expenditures for travel to expand tourism earnings, more investments in the tourism industry to create jobs, and more tourism facilities for the handicapped to increase the number of tourists.

Leading participants for the New Year’s reception for tourism people

including Minister Yoo Jin-ryong of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and 

Tourism, Chairman Nam Sang-man of KTA, Rep. Shin Hak-yong, 

chairman of the National Assembly Culture, Education, Sports and 

Tourism Committee, Acting President Kang Ki-yong of Korea Tourism 

Organization(KTO) and others are shown in this photo.

In detail, “wider” in the theme was meant to expand the tourism industry’s revenue, fostering of the fusion of culture and the Creative Economy while “happier” was meant to boost tourism service quality, thus making the people happier, the association said.

Chairman Nam in his welcoming speech said he would like to thank everyone at the reception for their hard efforts for the development of the Korean tourism industry, despite many difficulties last year. This is the year of the Blue Horse in the lunar calendar, which should bring good luck to everyone deserves it. The KTA will expand its exchange with other industries to widen its cooperation with them in order to develop the tourism industry further, leading to cultural prosperity so that the tourism industry might be able to make the people happier, the chairman said.