A scene from the “Be Kind to Foreign Tourists” Campaign showing
Minister Yoo Jin-ryong of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism
handing out gifts to foreign tourists in Myeong-dong, downtown Seoul on Jan. 29.
The campaign took place across the country in such places as airports, harbors and
downtown streets in major cities.(Photo:KTA:article by SK Lee)
The government and tourism related industries were out to welcome Chinese tourists visiting Korea during their extended Lunar New Year holiday form Jan. 31 to Feb. 6.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) jointly with the tourism industry has decided to conduct a campaign called the “Korea Campaign to Welcome Foreign Tourists Kindly” until the first part of February to ensure that tourism facilities are well prepared and ready to extend a welcoming hand to foreign tourists, the ministry said on Jan. 25.
The organizations that participated in the campaign included the Korea Tourist Organization (KTO), Seoul Metropolitan Police, Korea Tourism Association (KTA), Korea Travel Business Association, the Visit Korea Committee, and Grand Korea Leisure.
On Jan. 29, Minister Yoo Jin-ryong of the MCST conducted a street campaign in Myeong-dong in the heart of Seoul starting at 5 p.m. along with the representatives of tourism agencies, police units assigned to tourism, honorary marshals for special tourism districts, and volunteers working for tourist guide offices around the country. The slogan read “We Take Actions for Kind Korea for Foreign Tourists,” with some 150 participants parading the streets in Myeong-dong with placards for about an hour, passing out fortune cookies and stickers reading “Be Kind” to foreign tourists at places where tourists usually visit such as shops and restaurants in the area in order to make the public understand what kindness means to foreign tourists, the ministry said.
For Chinese tourists in particular, the KTO and related agencies of the local autonomous administrations held diverse welcoming events at major airports including Incheon International Airport, Gimpo Airport, Gimhae International Airport, and Jeju International Airport and two large harbors, Incheon and Pyeongtaek, for Chinese tourists arriving on ships.
At Incheon International Airport the Chinese tourists were presented with special brochures, mementos, and special events to welcome them.
The special events included the presentation of prizes for those Chinese tourists who had their coupon books stamped at the places they visited. At Jeju International Airport they were given tangerines and drinking water called “Samdasu” from streams deep in Mt. Halla on the island.
At the same, the ministry, jointly with the KTO, Visit Korea Committee, and the Korea Tourism Association conducted checks on shops in such locations as Myeong-dong, Insa-dong, and streets near Hongik University in Seoul to prevent those shops from charging excessive prices on goods that foreign tourists buy until Feb. 6.
Such department stores as Shinsegye, the Trade Center, and Hyundai Department Store jointly operated a mobile tourist service center with a number of remodeled five-ton vans to help foreign tourists with interpretation and passed out guidebooks on tourism in Seoul from Feb. 1-9.
Cosmetics makers held special events in front of Doosan Tower near East Gate in Seoul from Jan. 31-Feb. 6 and passed out fortune cookies and held makeup events called “Catching up With Hallyu Stars” from Feb. 4-5.
Tourism Bureau Chief Kim Ki-hong of the MCST said the campaign has been designed to show foreign tourists, especially Chinese tourists, how they are welcome in Korea by displaying human warmth, the symbol of Korea’s image that will stay in the minds of the foreign tourists when they go back to their countries.
