The 'real America' Brand USA is selling to Korean travelers

Chris Heywood, executive vice president of communications at Brand USA [Brand USA]

"South Korea is a key market — seventh in the world by the number of visitors to the United States. It is also a high-potential country expected to achieve double-digit average annual growth going forward."

Chris Heywood, executive vice president of communications at Brand USA, made the remarks in a recent interview, outlining a phased promotional strategy to draw Korean travelers beyond major cities and into secondary and smaller destinations. Heywood was visiting South Korea for a Brand USA sales mission event.

Brand USA data bear out the assessment: last year, Korean visitors ranked seventh among all international arrivals to the United States and third among Asian markets, behind Japan and China.

Korean travelers also tend to stay longer than most, averaging about 16 days per trip, with 81 percent visiting for leisure. Couples accounted for 23 percent of travelers and families for 21 percent. The top activity was food and dining, followed by sightseeing and entertainment. California, New York, Hawaii, Nevada and Texas were among the most popular destinations.

Lower Manhattan, New York [Brand USA]

Korean arrivals dipped slightly over the past year as the won lost about 12 percent of its purchasing power against the dollar, but Brand USA remains upbeat about the market's long-term prospects.

"There are many premium travelers among Korean visitors — people with financial means and strong purchasing power," Heywood said. "Despite challenges such as the exchange rate, we expect the market to recover to its 2019 peak of about 2.3 million visitors by 2030."

Expanding air connectivity is also supporting demand. Brand USA counts 19 nonstop routes between South Korea and the United States this year, with weekly seat supply totaling about 4.3 million. New services have been coming online: Air Premia launched a Seoul–Washington, D.C. route in April, and United Airlines is set to add a Seoul–New York (New Jersey) route in September.

Citi Field, home of the New York Mets [Brand USA]

Heywood identified sports tourism as a new growth driver alongside shopping, festivals, outdoor activities and wellness, noting that Korean athletes competing in American professional leagues could fuel demand for in-person game experiences. "Sports tourism — people coming to the US to watch games — already accounts for about 20 percent of visits," he said. "Players like Son Heung-min and Kim Ha-seong can drive that travel demand."

Brand USA is leaning heavily this year on major international events and historic anniversaries as promotional themes, actively marketing the United States around three milestones: the FIFA North and Central America World Cup, the 250th anniversary of American independence and the 100th anniversary of Route 66, the highway that cuts through eight states. Next year, Brand USA plans to highlight the 200th anniversary of American railroads and ramp up promotion of the western United States ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The organization has set a 13 percent growth target for Korean arrivals next year.

"Despite the headwind of exchange-rate pressure, our medium- to long-term goal is to grow repeat visitors from South Korea by capitalizing on expanded air routes and the momentum of mega sporting events," Heywood said. "We plan to uncover diverse tourism assets across the United States and deepen cooperation with airlines and travel agencies to offer Korean travelers a differentiated path to America."

terry@heraldcorp.com