ANDREA LOPES – Gurgaon
According to a survey conducted by the KTO in 2010, Indians spent US$1446 per trip, this was in contrast with other visitors who spent US$ 1298 per trip when visiting Korea. “Also, Indian travellers spent an average of 13.5 days in contrast with other nationalities who spent an average of 10 days,” revealed Jae Sang Lee, director, Korea Tourism Office, New Delhi.
Korea has registered a growth of 25 per cent from the Indian market since it opened office in India in 2008. Furthermore, the bilateral agreement signed between the two countries in 2010 under the India-Korea Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) has facilitated business between both countries and contributed to the country’s corporate travel segment.
Despite this, the country is keen to push leisure tourism in India as well. “We expect the family market to be the biggest from India. Indians mostly travel to South East Asia or the Middle East, they have not moved higher up and explored Japan, Korea and the North East part of Asia. Korean and Indian people need to understand each other, I don’t think they know sufficient about each other to get them interested in travelling,” says Lee.
Ten years ago, five lakh Chinese travellers visited Korea, this grew to 2.2 million last year. “This is a very sharp curve and we expect this kind of a sharp increase from India as well. Once Indian travellers experience Seoul and our other cities because we are a very advanced and modern country, whether it is for shopping, nightlife or amusement parks, they will want to return. We expect bigger incentive groups and student groups. People need to know that Korea has grown from a low income to a high income country. Korea is very dynamic and industrialised but we are still very eager to learn something. Education is our number one priority and we want to suggest student exchange programmes in India.”
KTO has roadshows planned in Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru and Kolkata in September this year. “We will continue making presentations in smaller cities. We are also co-operating with other southeast Asian carriers to connect India to Korea. In addition, KTO opened a representative office in Mumbai last July and the Korean Embassy appointed VFS to make it easier for Indians to travel to Korea. “They have also reduced the number of documents required to obtain a via,” says Lee.
Asked about how mature the Indian trade was, Lee said, “Korean travel agents tell us that the Indian market is difficult to access because the partners change all the time. We are looking for longterm partnerships and working continuously to build good relationships and credibility. But this is hard if your partners change all the time.”
