S. Korea Aims to Attract 700,000 Chinese Tourists This Year

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, January 27, 2003

S. Korea Aims to Attract 700,000 Chinese Tourists This Year

The Korea National Tourism Organization (KNTO) aims to attract at least 700,000 tourists from China this year, up 29.6 percent from about 540,000 last year, KNTO president Cho Hong-kyu said Sunday.

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The Korea National Tourism Organization (KNTO) aims to attract at least 700,000 tourists from China this year, up 29.6 percent from about 540,000 last year, KNTO president Cho Hong-kyu said Sunday.

South Korea attracted a total of 5.35 million foreign travelers last year--the largest number ever--on the back of an increase in the number of Chinese travelers from the previous year, during which the 5 million mark was first passed, the KNTO said.

The KNTO announced its 10 annual objectives at the beginning of this year, including the targets of more than 5.45 million foreign visitors and tourism revenue of $6.1 billion.

"`As the Chinese economy is developing at a rapid pace, the Chinese tourism sector as well as the number of Chinese travelers is expected to grow steadily," Cho said.

"More than 100 million Chinese are expected to travel abroad every year by 2020 according to a report by the World Trade Organization, and even if South Korea takes up only 10 percent of that, that will mean over 10 million travelers from China alone," Cho said in an exclusive interview with The Korea Times.

Although South Korea's tourism has been improving, if we can not yet make further preparation for the upcoming increase in Chinese travelers, South Korea will be left behind forever, Cho said.

Source: Agencies

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