Primarily known as a business destination in the UK market, South Korea has great potential as a leisure destination with its range of attractions and favourable hotel rates.
In the country’s bustling capital, Seoul, it is possible to shop around the clock for clothes bargains and traditional goods, or you can visit the city’s royal palaces and museums to get you up to speed with the country’s history.
Add to this the Buddhist temples and paddy fields to the south of the country, and Korea becomes much more than just a place to do business.
Around 60,000 British visitors travelled to South Korea last year, the majority, some 75%, were business-related trips.
Korea National Tourism Organisation marketing manager Nigel Lloyd, based in London, said:”Most business visits spill over into the leisure side when people realise how much there is to do outside the conference hall. Among its temples, there are several United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation designated sites, and it is easy to get to them as the infrastructure is firmly in place – there are excellent road, rail and air connections.”
The country has a wide range of excellent hotels which have sprung up to service the business community. These focus on the three main tourist destinations Seoul, Kyongju, a 7th century capital overflowing with temples, and sub-tropical Cheju Island, off the south coast, with its palm trees and tangerine groves.
Hoteliers are keen to approach the leisure market to fill rooms when take-up from business clients is slack, traditionally during the winter and summer months.
Korea of Starwood Hotels and Resorts area managing director Bernhard Brender is keen to work with British travel agents or tour operators. “In Korea the room rates are flexible and the service standards are higher than in Hong Kong and Bangkok. We offer special rates for the leisure market in July and August as well as in December, January and February,” he said.
Starwood offers two nights at the five-star Sheraton Walker-Hill in Seoul from £92.50 per person based on twin share in low season. The deal is bookable through Travel 2. In Kyongju there is oversupply in the hotels market, with an average of only 50% occupancy year round, creating ideal market conditions for potential UK operators to strike a good deal.
Kyongju Hilton director of sales and marketing Dong Hwan Kim said: “We are mainly focused on the Japanese market, but we’d like to see more Europeans at the hotel. We know that Kyongju’s temples and palaces appeal to Western visitors, besides which the city is a good place to relax – there are plenty of golf, fishing and walking attractions in the area.”
Starwood’s Brender thinks there is no time like the present. “The British pound is strong these days, £1 buys around 2,000 won, double the amount visitors got in the late 1980s, when £1 bought just 1,000 won,” he said.
Ex-UK flights are on special offer too. Korean Air, the only non-stop carrier, offers a published fare of £399 return. Passenger sales manager Peter Barron said: “We brought the rate in two years ago, triggered by the decline in numbers travelling because of the Asian economic crisis. Any agent can sell that fare and we pay a 9% commission.”
Flights leave Heathrow’s Terminal Three every day except Tuesday and Thursday, returning the same day from Seoul on a direct turnaround.
While South Korea is making a fledgling recovery from its economic crisis, the country is already looking forward to 2002, when it will co-host the World Cup with Japan.
Barron said: “It’s the biggest sporting event in the world, it leaves the Olympics in the shade. I’m expecting a large amount of corporate-incentive travel from Korean companies in the UK such as Samsung and Daewoo – they will probably take their top-selling dealerships out to the event.
“And depending on whether England and Scotland qualify, I hope we will have a strong consumer presence too,” said Barron.
He also expects an increase in business from the British Korean Veterans Association as next year is the 50th anniversary of the start of the Korean War.
For operators or independent agents who want to take the next step and tie up with a South Korean ground handler, there is no shortage of companies that run tours in English.
The biggest are Korea Travel Bureau, Global Tour, Kim’s Travel and Seoul Travel Service. Between them they cover the country, offering Seoul city tours, day trips to Kyongju and three-day tours of Cheju Island. Also on offer are day trips to the demilitarised zone between North and South Korea, where the two Koreas have held countless rounds of on-off peace talks since the end of the war in 1953.
south korea
Visa: not required for stays of up to 90 days for British nationals.
Time difference: GMT +8hrs during British Summertime, GMT +9hrs during the rest of the year.
Currency: the won. £1 is worth around W1,960.
Departure tax: there is a tax of W9,000 when leaving Seoul Kimpo Airport.
Climate: winter is mid-November-February, often with sub-zero temperatures. Summer is June-August, with temperatures up to 33C. The best time to visit is between these periods.
Airline: Korean Air is the only non-stop carrier, with an 11hr flight.
Sample operators: KR Tours, Reliance Tours, Travel 2, Premier Holidays, Gold Medal Travel Group.
Details: Korea National Tourism Organisation, tel 020-7321 2535.