Air Asiana to operate five flights a week from Delhi; Korea better positioned as a premier destination, says Director, Korea Tourism Organization

Speaking with TF, Byugnsun Lee, Director, Korea Tourism Organization said that there has been a 25 percent hike in tourists in 2016. He expressed confidence that with better air-connectivity and joint marketing campaigns, Korea will position itself as a premier destination for the Indian outbound.

Byungsun Lee
BYUGNSUN LEE
DIRECTOR,
KOREA TOURISM ORGANIZATION

Lending more teeth to air-connectivity between India and South Korea, one of the two major airlines of South Korea, Asiana Airlines has recently announced the expansion of its non-stop Incheon (Seoul) to New Delhi service from current three to five flights per week. The announcement indicates growing bilateral traffic between two countries. Both the nations already share robust commercial ties with substantial investments by a number of Korean companies in India. 

The additional flight will begin on Jul 3, 2016. Currently, the airline is operating Airbus 300-330 with configuration of business class 30 seats and travel class 260 seats. In an official statement released by the airlines, it has sighted growing numbers of, both, leisure and corporate travelers for this decision. Byugnsun Lee, Director, Korea tourism organization noted that the increase in frequency obviously signaled an increase in visitors from India to Korea. “India is one of the key potential markets for South Korea, the Indian visitors graph is showing an upwards trend. We expect a good percentage increase in the near future,” he said.

Adding that Korea remained positive about the growing numbers from India with 1.5 lakh visitors last year, he said that “as of April, we have received 25% growth compared to last year.”

Sharing that South Korea was, undoubtedly, an upscale destination with a plethora of unique experiences for its visitors, he said that “direct connectivity to Seoul is definitely a key player with Seoul, Busan and Jeju as the focus destinations for tourism. Both Korean Air and Asiana Airline provide the most competitive costs for all the leisure and MICE travelers.”

He informed that there were constant efforts to ease travel to South Korea, as much as possible, with more connectivity and more travel products available in the market for tourists to select from. “We intend to position it as a most preferred premium destination, in Asia, sought after by the Indian travelers,” said the director.

To his understanding the larger connect between the two nations had been shaped up considering the increase in demand from the Indian Outbound Market. He argued that with more connectivity, the destination was now becoming a more viable option for the corporate as well. “To boost leisure travel, we are joining hands with travel agents in the form of Joint Marketing Campaigns every quarter,” he said.  “Regarding the corporate exchange, the growing trade relations between the two countries surely play significant role in contributing to the number of travelers,” said Byugnsun Lee. 

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