Park Seong-hyeok, president of the Korea Tourism Organization, took his sales efforts directly to China—Korea’s biggest inbound market—working across global platforms, cruise lines and airlines.
The KTO said on March 30 that Park visited China from March 23–28 to build a comprehensive collaboration network aimed at boosting travel demand to Korea.
By January, Chinese arrivals were up more than 14% year over year, signaling a steady recovery. To keep that momentum going, the KTO moved to deepen partnerships with major Chinese firms.
On March 25, the KTO signed an MOU with Trip.com, a global online travel agency, to feature Korea travel products and run joint marketing campaigns targeting roughly 600 million users across about 40 countries.
It also struck a strategic partnership with JD Group, China’s largest e-commerce company, to strengthen data-driven marketing. With around 700 million members and a large middle-class user base, JD is well positioned to uncover new demand. The KTO will also work with Fliggy, Alibaba’s travel platform, to develop K-content bundle packages aimed at independent travelers.
The agency outlined concrete plans to expand sea and air connections to energize regional tourism.
In Shanghai, KTO officials met with Adora Cruises, China’s largest cruise operator, to explore adding port calls to destinations like Busan and Yeosu. They specifically proposed expanding Yeosu calls to coincide with the 2026 Yeosu World Islands Expo (Sept. 5–Nov. 4) and suggested event-driven strategies to generate demand. Officials also discussed with China Airlines the possibility of launching new charter flights linking regional airports such as Daegu and Cheongju.
The KTO plans off-season promotions and repeat-visitor packages in partnership with major OTAs like Qunar and Tongcheng. Centered on its five China offices, the agency will coordinate with Korean Air and local visa application centers to align flight capacity, visa issuance and local marketing into an integrated demand-expansion system.
“To reach 30 million inbound visitors ahead of schedule, we must take proactive steps in China, our largest market,” Park said. “By connecting major platforms with cruise lines and airlines, we aim to turn partnerships into real travel demand and revitalize regional tourism.”
