GANGWON-DO < invest Korea

According to Yonhap News,

Gangwon-do (Province) unveiled its ambitious plan to lure 2 million foreign tourists this year.

It will implement several strategies-developing tour programs, strengthening marketing and promotion and facilitating Yangyang International Airport.

The province will also expand its target countries previously focusing on Russia to Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam.

For Chinese, Japanese and Southeast Asian visitors, it will operate chartered buses connecting Seoul and Chuncheon-si (City), Wonju-si (City), Pyeongchang-gun (County) and Gangneung-si in Gangwon.

In October, it will hold a celebration event to mark the tenth anniversary of airing the popular Korean drama Winter Sonata that drove the Korean wave in Asia and a large-scale K-POP concert.

The number of foreign tourists to Gangwon surged from 680,000 in 2000 to 1.02 million in 2008, 1.26 million in 2009, 1.39 million in 2010, 1.56 million in 2011 and 1.87 million in 2012. The dramatic gains seem to be attributed to growing awareness of Gangwon after selected to host the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

With various international events related to the 2018 Olympics and tour programs, the figure is forecast to skyrocket to 3 million and 4 million in 2017 and 2018, respectively.

Source: Yonhap News (Feb. 17, 2013)

** This is the translation of a Korean article.