[Sports Seoul | Wi Su-jeong] The Korea Tourism Organization is launching a tourism-and-aviation partnership to attract more international visitors to the Daegu–North Gyeongsang (Gyeongbuk) area.
KTO’s Daegu-Gyeongbuk office said it hosted a “Daegu-Gyeongbuk Tourism Council” meeting at Hotel Inter-Burgo Daegu on the 7th.
The meeting aimed to position Daegu International Airport as the Travel Korea Gateway for the Yeongnam region and to accelerate efforts to welcome more overseas travelers.
About 40 people attended, including officials from Daegu City, North Gyeongsang Province, Gyeongju and Andong, as well as representatives from regional tourism organizations, Korea Airports Corporation and members of the travel industry.
In the morning session, participants focused on boosting Daegu International Airport’s competitiveness on the global stage. Key proposals included expanding short-haul international routes and charter flights, improving use of airport slots, strengthening transport links between downtown Daegu and major Gyeongbuk attractions, launching a campaign under the slogan “Arrive at Daegu Airport = Start your Yeongnam trip,” and expanding lodging and tourism infrastructure.
In the afternoon, the discussion turned to developing large-scale inbound tourism packages that link attractions across Daegu and Gyeongbuk.
Attendees agreed on the potential for “K-Heritage” routes that fuse Daegu’s K-pop and contemporary cultural offerings with the UNESCO World Heritage sites in Andong and Gyeongju and the area’s APEC legacy.
The Korea Tourism Organization also outlined plans to ramp up overseas marketing through its foreign offices and global online travel agencies (OTAs), and to roll out country-specific promotion strategies.
Park Su-hyun, director of KTO’s Daegu-Gyeongbuk office, said, “Developing Daegu and Gyeongbuk into an inbound tourism hub requires broad regional cooperation. Local governments, airports and airlines, and the travel industry will work together to produce measurable increases in foreign visitors.” wsj0114@sportsseoul.com
