MANILA – The Philippines and South Korea have signed a five-year tourism cooperation that will introduce joint tourism promotion activities and training.
The partnership, valid from 2019 to 2024, aims to strengthen cooperation on matters concerning tourist safety, security and quality assurance, The Philippine Star reported.
Also in the pipeline are product training programs for sub-agents in Busan and Daegu. On top of this, we will encourage more airlines to fly direct to international gateways other than Manila from key cities in Korea,– Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary, Bernadette Romulo-Puyat
South Korea has been the Philippines’ top source market for foreign tourist arrivals for nine years, according to Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat.
In 2018, the DOT recorded 1.62 million arrivals from South Korea, comprising 23% of the country’s 7.12 million arrivals that year.
“To sustain the momentum, the DOT will embark on a more aggressive marketing campaign to continue capture a bigger chunk of the Korean market,” Ms Romulo-Puyat said.
It will also collaborate with the travel trade to develop new thematic tour products for specific market segments.
“Also in the pipeline are product training programs for sub-agents in Busan and Daegu. On top of this, we will encourage more airlines to fly direct to international gateways other than Manila from key cities in Korea,” Ms Romulo-Puyat said.
The influx of South Korean tourists continued this year, with arrivals notching 1.45 million from January to September representing a 21% growth compared to the same period last year.
Improved air connectivity has been a factor in bolstering tourism arrivals from South Korea. An additional 14 new routes have been opened, including Daegu-Kalibu-Daegu, Incheon-Bohol-Incheon and Muan-Clark-Muan.
Aside from sun and beach tourism, South Koreans also visit the Philippines for education tourism.