Gyeongbuk Province and the Gyeongbuk Culture and Tourism Corporation are ramping up efforts to grow overseas tourism, successfully drawing Taiwanese group travelers with targeted sports-and-travel marketing.
The corporation reported that 130 Taiwanese group tourists participated in the 33rd Gyeongju Cherry Blossom Marathon on April 4 at the Bomun Tourism Complex in Gyeongju.
The race, which lets runners thread through a UNESCO World Heritage city, attracted about 15,000 participants. Of approximately 550 international entrants, Taiwanese groups accounted for a notable share.
The corporation says this achievement isn’t a one-off. It’s the payoff from more than a decade of building trust and expertise.
Since beginning outreach to tourists from Guangdong, China, in 2015, the corporation has successfully run foreign tourist support programs tied to the Cherry Blossom Marathon eight times through this year (excluding the COVID-19 period).
To date, it has drawn roughly 1,130 participants from key Asian markets—including Taiwan, Hong Kong and Malaysia—helping cement the Gyeongju Cherry Blossom Marathon as a must-do event for regional sports fans.
On race day, participants also toured the economic exhibition hall at Gyeongju Expo Park, a recreation of the APEC summit venue. There they experienced firsthand Gyeongju’s international profile and its readiness as the 2025 APEC host city.
Building on this momentum, the corporation plans to move beyond passive sightseeing and fast-track the development of experiential specialty products that make the most of Gyeongbuk’s outdoor offerings—organized marathons, cycling tours and trekking adventures.
