Tourism boost for PyeongChang 2018

“It is a great pleasure to work together with the KTO promoting PyeongChang 2018, which is striving to expand the “Korean wave” all over the world."

The PyeongChang Organising Committee for the 2018 Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games (POCOG) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Korea Tourism Organisation (KTO) that will establish a strong partnership with the tourism industry for the successful hosting of the winter Games.

The agreement was formalised on Tuesday (22 December) at an official ceremony in the POCOG office in Seoul, South Korea, and POCOG President Yang-ho Cho and KTO CEO JUNG Chang-soo were in attendance.

KTO is an organisation affiliated to the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism that is commissioned to promote the country’s tourism industry. Under the agreement of this MOU, KTO will help promote the Olympics and Paralympics both domestically and abroad as well as further strengthen the foundation of the culture and tourism industry showcasing the PyeongChang 2018 Games.

Both organisations have agreed to work together to promote the PyeongChang 2018 Games at key international exhibitions and highly popular Hallyu “Korean wave” performances. They will collaborate on a number of joint projects including inviting international media and travel agencies to visit and discover what host city PyeongChang and the Republic of Korea have to offer. KTO will also co-operate with POCOG’s sponsors to develop tourism products with offerings such as accommodations, culture, cuisine, shopping and more. It will also run a targeted domestic promotional campaign creating a special atmosphere around the excitement of the Games sparking the public’s interest and desire to experience the first Korean Winter Olympics and the wealth of winter sports that the areas offer.

Signing the MOU, POCOG President Yang-ho Cho said: “It is a great pleasure to work together with the KTO promoting PyeongChang 2018, which is striving to expand the “Korean wave” all over the world, and to attract foreign tourists to Korea. Both organisations will put forth our best efforts in preparing PyeongChang 2018 to be successful to inspire both domestic and international tourists to visit the PyeongChang 2018 Games and to experience our world class winter sport system.”

KTO CEO JUNG Chang-soo added: “KTO will strive to make Korea as an emerging power in winter sports tourism by actively promoting the PyeongChang 2018 Games at international events as well as pursuing a number of joint projects.”

In November 2014 in London, Great Britain, POCOG and KTO successfully co-managed the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Games promotional booth at the World Travel Market (WTM), and both organisations will actively collaborate to strengthen their alliances abroad.