SEOUL, Feb. 1 (Korea Bizwire) — Imports of golf equipment increased more than 10 percent last year, customs data showed Thursday, bucking initial expectations that the popularity of the costly sport would be dampened by a new anti-corruption law. Trade figures obtained by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism from the customs agency said [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 31 (Korea Bizwire) — Local duty-free shops are offering exclusive incentives for Chinese tourists, hoping to attract them during the Lunar New Year holiday next month, industry officials said Wednesday. The Feb. 15-21 holidays overlap with the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics taking place in South Korea’s eastern alpine region from Feb. 9-25 as [...]
GENEVA, Jan. 30 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of South Korean tourists visiting Switzerland has soared over the last few years, following a promotional campaign featuring K-pop stars. The state-owned Swiss media RTS reported on Sunday that Switzerland’s tourism industry has benefited significantly from South Korean celebrity ambassadors. Since 2003, Switzerland Tourism has deployed K-pop [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 30 (Korea Bizwire) — Hotel Lotte Co., the hotel unit of South Korean retail giant Lotte, said Tuesday it will open the third chain of its lifestyle brand L7 in Seoul this week as it attempts to attract more young visitors. The new chain in Hongdae, a major tourist destination in western Seoul, [...]
INJE, Jan. 30 (Korea Bizwire) — The Inje Ice Fishing festival is gaining popularity, with 110,000 people flocking to rural Inje County on the event’s first day to catch smelts through holes pierced in a frozen lake, the county office said Tuesday. The annual festival opened Saturday for a nine-day run after a four-year hiatus [...]
PYEONGCHANG, South Korea, Jan. 29 (Korea Bizwire) – For spectators attending the PyeongChang Olympic Games next month, going to sporting events will only be part of the fun. Several participating nations will run Olympic hospitality houses during the Feb. 9-25 competition. Run by national Olympic committees or corporate sponsors, these hospitality houses will promote countries’ cultures and specialty foods. The houses will host watch parties for visitors to cheer on their [...]
SEJONG, Jan. 19 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea and China have agreed to expand car ferry operations between the two nations to cope with growing demand for maritime shipping and travel, Seoul’s oceans ministry said Friday. The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said the agreement was reached in a meeting of senior maritime officials in [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — Naver Corp., South Korea’s top Internet portal operator, will soon add foreign language versions of its online map service, a corporate source said Thursday. Maps in English, Japanese and Chinese, as well as an English navigation service, are expected to kick off later this month. The launch comes just [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 17 (Korea Bizwire) – Sales at South Korean duty-free stores reached an all-time high last year, despite a sharp drop in the number of foreign tourists following a diplomatic row between Seoul and Beijing over a U.S. anti-missile system, customs data showed Wednesday. Combined sales to foreigners at 48 local duty-free shops came to 14.5 trillion won (US$13.6 billion) in 2017, up 17.9 percent from 12.3 trillion won tallied the previous year, according to [...]
SEJONG, Jan. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — The government will launch a 2.6 trillion-won (US$2.45 billion) investment fund for startups this year, the first portion of a proposed 10 trillion-won investment fund that is to be created by 2020, the finance ministry said Wednesday. Earlier, the government said it will allocate 30 trillion won over the [...]