Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Choi Hwi-young said the government will spare no investment or support to build what he called an irreplaceable K-tourism sector.
Choi made the remarks at the 53rd Tourism Day ceremony held on the 30th at the Lotte Hotel in Seoul's Jung District. "The future of K-tourism is about becoming a country people must visit, not just one they would like to visit, and a country they want to return to once they have come," he said. He added that the government's target of 30 million visitors, and eventually 40 million, is not a dream figure but a reality within reach. "We will extend the footsteps of foreign visitors into the regions and overhaul the readiness of tourism as a whole, including lodging, transportation and payments, to match an era of 40 million visitors," he said.
Choi highlighted that the fundamentals of K-tourism are changing, noting that 15.05 million foreign visitors came to Korea from January through August this year, up 21.6% from the same period a year earlier, while card spending by foreigners in the tourism sector rose 48.5% to 14.018 trillion won.
At the ceremony, hosted by the ministry and the Korea Tourism Association under the theme "Tourism That Revives Regions, Tourism That Grows Korea," government honors were presented to 23 recipients, including four medals, two Industrial Service Merit Medals, six presidential citations and 11 prime ministerial citations.
The Silver Tower Industrial Medal, the highest honor of the day, went to Kim Nam-cheol, vice president and general manager of Hilton Gyeongju at Wooyang Industrial Development. Kim has worked in the hotel industry for more than 50 years since 1975, handling protocol for state events including the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. He was also recognized for hiring 529 young people from the region and training 975 hotel industry professionals.
The Camellia Medal of the Order of Civil Merit went to the Buddhist nun Gyeho, also known as Kim Ok-hee, head of Jingwansa Temple and a master of temple cuisine, for promoting traditional Korean food by popularizing temple food and supporting state events such as APEC. The Iron Tower Industrial Medal went to Kim Chun-chu, chief executive of Kim's M&T, who has run an inbound travel agency since 1991, bringing in some 400,000 foreign visitors and earning $100 million in foreign currency. Jung Hyung-pil, a director at Kintex, received the Stone Tower Industrial Medal for winning operating rights to a large overseas exhibition venue, a first for a domestic convention center.
Industrial Service Merit Medals went to Park Sang-won, chief executive of Foryou Communications, and Lee Sang-yoon, a director at Oedo Botania. Park has run a MICE company in Busan for 22 years and carried out more than 500 international events, while Lee was recognized for developing Oedo into a destination that draws 1 million visitors a year, generating 100 billion won in annual added value and about 600 jobs.
Samsung C&T's Everland Resort received a presidential citation. The resort has operated its theme park for more than 50 years, drawing a cumulative 290 million visitors and contributing to foreign visitor numbers and foreign currency earnings through global content collaborations. Everland was the only organization among the six presidential citations awarded this year.
