Korea Tourism Organization promotes Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province street-food festivals to global audiences
Three local governments join hands for overseas marketing push
Taiwanese tourists to experience K-street-food culture firsthand
South Korea is launching an overseas marketing campaign to turn regional street-food festivals — centered on tteokbokki, kimbap and ramyun — into global tourism draws, with the aim of spreading inbound visitors beyond the Greater Seoul area to local destinations.
The Korea Tourism Organization announced Wednesday that it is partnering with Daegu's Buk-gu district and the North Gyeongsang Province cities of Gimcheon and Gumi to promote the region's street-food festivals abroad and boost visitor numbers.
The organization noted that Taiwanese tourists make up the largest share of foreign arrivals through Daegu International Airport and Gimhae International Airport, and that demand for food-focused travel from Taiwan is particularly strong. Drawing on that insight, it developed tailored tourism products linking street-food festivals in the Daegu and North Gyeongsang area to signature Korean dishes such as tteokbokki and kimbap.
Since September, the organization's Taipei office has worked with major Taiwanese travel agencies to offer K-street-food festival tour packages, attracting 145 Taiwanese tourists. The group is scheduled to visit the Daegu Tteokbokki Festival and the Gimcheon Kimbap Festival from Friday through Saturday, sampling a range of Korean street food and experiencing the country's food culture firsthand.
The organization also plans to step up viral marketing to raise the global profile of the festivals. It will invite influencers to the Daegu Tteokbokki Festival and the Gimcheon Kimbap Festival, as well as the Gumi Ramyun Festival scheduled for November, to capture the atmosphere of each event. The influencers will share the appeal of Korea's street-food festivals across their social media channels.
"This initiative is significant in that it improves access to regional tourism by connecting visitors through local airports, and packages regional tourism resources around a single theme — street-food festivals," said Min Byeong-seon, head of the Korea Tourism Organization's tourism industry division. "We will continue to uncover distinctive local tourism resources, develop them into global content, and do our utmost to expand regional visits and generate new inbound demand."
terry@heraldcorp.com
