Korea Tourism Organization’s (KTO) newly appointed President Park Sung-hyeuck speaks during his first press conference at Korea Press Center in Seoul, Monday. Courtesy of KTO
The Korea Tourism Organization’s (KTO) newly appointed chief executive unveiled an aggressive plan Monday to accelerate tourism growth, pledging to reach the government’s goal of 30 million annual visitors two years ahead of schedule.
“2030 is too late. We will achieve the 30 million visitor milestone by 2028,” KTO President Park Sung-hyeuck told reporters at a media event at the Korea Press Center.
The announcement marks a significant shift in the national tourism strategy, with the KTO setting 2026 as the “action year” for a comprehensive transformation built around three pillars: attracting visitors, extending stays and integrating artificial intelligence (AI).
Park, a marketing specialist recruited from Cheil Worldwide, Samsung Group’s advertising arm, where he led overseas market strategy, underscored the urgency of the target, noting that Korea drew a record 18.9 million foreign visitors last year.
The figure represents a 15.7 percent increase from a year earlier and an 8.2 percent rise over the prepandemic peak in 2019. Reaching 30 million visitors by 2028 would require annual growth of more than 16 percent, a pace Park described as “bold but necessary.”
The new KTO chief addressed Korea’s gap with Japan head-on, citing analysis showing that Korea records around half of Japan’s visitor numbers and only a third of its bilateral travel flows.
“This imbalance must be closed quickly,” Park said, outlining a strategy centered on regional diversification and expansion into higher-value markets.
Rather than pursuing volume alone, Park emphasized qualitative growth, targeting premium sectors including medical wellness, beauty tourism and major international conferences.
“Volume is important, but how long visitors stay and how much they consume defines true success,” he said.
The KTO will pursue market-specific strategies tailored to regional characteristics. For China, Japan and Taiwan — Korea’s core markets — the focus shifts to secondary city tourism and repeat visits. Southeast Asia and the Middle East will be targeted through products linked to K-culture, while North America and Europe will see expanded online and offline touchpoints to capture new demand.
Foreign tourists watch a man write traditional calligraphy signifying wishes for good fortune in the new year at the Korean Folk Village in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, Monday, two days before the first day of spring in the traditional Korean calendar. Yonhap
Park outlined 10 flagship initiatives for 2026, including transforming Korea’s tourism guidance system into an AI-integrated single platform by 2028. The KTO will consolidate 13 fragmented websites into a “Visit Korea” hub, develop an AI travel assistant offering multilingual support and introduce integrated tourism and transportation passes for international visitors.
Notably, Park vowed to move beyond branch-level negotiations to forge “bold-stroke partnerships” with global hotel chains such as Hilton and Marriott and major online travel agencies at the corporate headquarters level, leveraging trickle-down effects to amplify Korea’s reach across international markets.
Domestically, The KTO will pilot regional vacation programs offering 50 percent refunds on travel expenses to depopulating rural communities in 20 designated areas, addressing both tourism distribution and demographic challenges.
“2026 will be a year of transformation where we execute based on data and create tangible results that people experience on the ground,” Park said. “Just as Japan’s tourism industry ranks second (in Japan’s export sector), we will elevate Korea’s tourism to become one of our three major export industries within three years,” he said, referring to automobiles and semiconductors as the country’s major export industries.
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