You, Jin Ho
Executive Director | Korean Tourism Organization in Beijing
Q: Is there any adjustment made to the marketing/promotional plan of the year due to the COVID-19 situation? Is there any new plan/initiative created specifically for the situation?
A: Due to the global outbreak of COVID – 19 and its spread to South Korea, our promotion plan has been greatly changed. To prevent imported cases, South Korea has imposed a 14-day quarantine on incoming passengers. In the past 2 months, the number of foreign tourists visiting South Korea has dropped by 90% compared with last year. In order to prevent the spread of coronavirus, the communication between South Korea and China had to be suspended, and South Korea had to adjust its overseas marketing strategy. For foreign tourists, we mainly do online marketing activities through live-stream (we call it “cloud tourism”). At the same time, we will promote the development of domestic tourism demand in South Korea, improve domestic tourism infrastructure, and improve service quality.
Q: Has your office/destination carried out any campaign/initiative during the COVID-19 situation? How do you see the effect?
A: Affected by COVID – 19, Chinese tourists are currently unable to travel to South Korea. Therefore, starting from April 25, our KTO Beijing office began to webcast “cloud tourism” so as to help Chinese tourists understand the charm of Korean tourism culture. We plan to continue the project until the end of the year because of the good response. At the same time, we are working hard to communicate with Korean pop stars and invite them to appear on the live show to introduce more diverse content about Korea.In addition, in order to appeal to Chinese tourists and quickly resume visits to South Korea after the epidemic, our staff will participate in online travel lecture courses for industry and consumers. At the same time, we also cooperate with tourism community websites to let consumers understand Korean culture in an interesting way.
Q: Is there any other campaign/initiative that is under planning for the next step?
A: Until the tourism between China and South Korea restarts, we will continue to focus on online promotional activities. Affected by the COVID – 19 epidemic situation, the internal and external tourism communication activities of the two countries have been temporarily suspended. Therefore, in order to share information with each other, we plan to take an online B2B meeting. In addition, when the situation gets better, our promotion plan also will be implemented as soon as possible.
Q: When the situation stabilizes, will your office/destination take any preferential measures that stimulate overseas visits and/or benefit the businesses in the source market?
A: In order to restart the Korean tourism marketing, we will carry out a series of measures. The first step is to develop safety measures that Chinese tourists can actually feel while traveling in South Korea. Secondly, we also plan to launch preferential programs in visa facilitation, aviation, accommodation and other aspects. Affected by the COVID – 19 people are paying more and more attention to themselves, family, friends and health. Therefore, we will focus on the development and publicity of health, rehabilitation and other tourism related programs.
Q: Why is it important to continue doing a good job in destination marketing and promotion during the COVID-19 situation when tourism has virtually stopped?
A: From the psychological perspective, if consumers do not see or are not exposed to a certain brand or destination for a long time, the impression of this object in consumers’ mind will gradually blur. Today, as Chinese tourists travel to more and more countries, it is important to continue bringing the latest information about South Korea to Chinese tourists and deepening their understanding of South Korea, so as to increase the willingness of Chinese tourists to visit South Korea.
Q: In ONE sentence, what is the most important message you’d like to share with the WTA members and the readers of our column?
A: Travel is a very interesting and meaningful activity to experience different cultures. Although the COVID-19 epidemic has had a great impact on our lives, no difficulty can prevent people from visiting each other forever. Travel brings us not only individual satisfaction, but also the process of breaking down barriers, communicating with each other and deepening understanding among people on the earth. We pray that the COVID-19 epidemic end soon, so that people can go back on their journey and embrace the world.