Gangneung took its tourism pitch to the heart of Tokyo last week.
The city operated a promotional booth and held business-to-business consultations with local travel industry officials at Tourism EXPO Japan, held at Tokyo Big Sight from Thursday to Sunday.
Japanese travel industry professionals are well aware that Gangneung holds considerable appeal — including Hyangho Beach in Jugyeonjin, where BTS shot an album jacket — and that the city ranks among the most popular domestic travel destinations for Koreans.
Through its participation in the expo, Gangneung aimed to raise brand awareness, generate new tourism demand and strengthen its foundation for attracting foreign visitors by expanding cooperation with the local tourism industry.
The city ran a standalone promotional booth within the Korea pavilion, carrying out a range of activities to highlight Gangneung's natural scenery, cultural offerings and four-season tourism appeal.
Particularly notable was a focused showcase of Gangneung's distinctive tourism content, alongside promotion of TourBridge, a travel platform designed for foreign visitors, which drew strong interest from local attendees and industry officials.
B2B consultations with Japanese travel firms also helped strengthen cooperative networks in the Japanese market, opening avenues for joint development of Gangneung tourism products and expanded co-marketing efforts.
Bae Gwang-sik, head of Gangneung's tourism policy division, said the expo gave the city a direct channel to showcase Gangneung's tourism appeal to the Japanese market and solidify ties with local travel operators. "We will continue to actively promote Gangneung's competitive tourism resources to attract more foreign visitors and enhance the city's value as a tourism brand," he said.
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