Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) aims to double the existing number of Australians travelling to the country by 2012. This was revealed by KTO’s Auditor General, Mr Lee Won Hyung, who further notes that 2009 has seen approximately 100,000 Australians travel to Korea.
An estimated 200,000 Australians are expected to visit Korea at the end of the Visit Korea Year 2010-2012 campaign. Korea, in this light, equally hopes to garner more Australian exchange students, from 200 each year to around 500 by 2012, and boost the number of Australian – Korean sister schools, from the current 40 schools. It is hoped that the welcoming of more Australian exchange students will increase the awareness of, and interest, in Korea as well as improve the existing political relationship between both countries. Visit Korea Year 2010-2012 is a pan-national campaign which envisions focusing on building the Korean tourism brand and developing high-quality tourism products to draw in 10 million foreign visitors.
Each year of the Visit Korea Year campaign will be accompanied with a different theme to highlight the unique culture and many offerings of Korea, including themes such as City and Style (2010), Nature and People (2011) and Blue Ocean (2012). City and Style will centre on Korean pop culture, urban tourism, culture and fashion, while Nature and People will focus on the IAFF World Championship in Athletics in Daegu, green tourism and the country’s rivers and mountains. The International Exposition, Yeosu Korea 2012, will kick off Blue Ocean, which will focus on Korea’s IT technology, maritime tourism, cruise tourism and island tourism.
