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WITH travel restrictions being gradually lifted in different countries and vaccination roll-out gaining momentum in Korea, the tourism sector hit hard by the more than yearlong pandemic is gearing up to attract foreign travelers.
According to Akhmed Faezal Al-Hamdi (IchaL), MICE Manager of Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) Jakarta Office at the KTO-Travel Agent Gathering & Virtual Tour 2021 – Muslim Friendly Korea in Jakarta (6/15) said the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has also been felt by the tourism representative offices of foreign countries in Indonesia. KTO, which is based in Jakarta, has also taken strategic steps so that their promotions will continue and be right on target.
“The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) is moving fast to resume overseas package tours as the nation’s vaccination rate is picking up speed and travel restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic are beginning to be lifted cautiously in some countries,” he said.
But when he asked how’s KTO promoting Muslim Friendly Korea program here, he rapidly answered that the conditions for the COVID-19 pandemic had many changes related to the adaptation of new habits. In the past, promotional activities were carried out offline, now the portion is more online.
To Korea, he continued, for the Indonesian market, KTO deliberately offers Korean Muslim Friendly tourist destinations because it makes it easier for Indonesian tourists to be more comfortable and secure with this halal tour during their visit to Korea.
Likewise, when asked about the criteria for Indonesian tourists, he explained Indonesian tourists prefer shopping and eating. Shopping is a favorite activity for tourists from Indonesia who visit South Korea. In the city of Seoul, there are indeed many shopping centers ranging from Dongdaemun to Myeong-Dong that provide a variety of clothes to cosmetics.
“What must be hunted in Seoul is cosmetics because the selling price is much cheaper than in Indonesia. It is undeniable that the increase in tourist destinations to South Korea is due to K-POP culture such as dramas and band groups, so drama locations and artist agency offices are also being hunted,” he added.
He also explained that for Indonesia’s Muslim tourists not to worry, now you can easily find halal food in South Korea. Muslim-Friendly Restaurant in Korea, there are 118 restaurants that sell food that are friendly to Muslim tourists and the restaurants are divided into 5 categories, namely 4 halal-certified restaurants, 37 self-certified restaurants, 24 Muslim-friendly restaurants, 49 Muslim-welcome restaurants and 4 pork-free restaurants.
“Restaurants that have a halal certificate are restaurants that meet the halal criteria determined by the Korea Muslim Federation (KMF), which has been established since 1967. Self-certified are restaurants that use halal ingredients but do not have an official halal certificate,” he said.
He continued, Muslim-Friendly Restaurants in Korea also grouped 36 famous Korean food menus into 4 categories, namely vegetables only, seafood-based foods, vegetable and seafood-based foods, and meat-based foods instead of pork. This food grouping is intended so that Muslim tourists can still enjoy Korean food.
The event was also attended by Yoo Seunghee – Director of Jakarta Office Gyeongnam Province, Park Sung Ho – Chief of Representative Daegu Metropolitan City and Charley SK Choi – Chief of Representative Gyeongsangbukdo Province.
Meanwhile, Tedjo Iskandar, Founder of TTC Indonesia said, for several online/offline activities KTO collaborates with TTC Indonesia is trusted as a partner by KTO to hold webinars and other activites with travel agents throughout Indonesia. After Jakarta, KTO will also hold the same event as Muslim Friendly Korea in Bandung on Friday (6/18).
“KTO promotions to target Indonesian market share will be intensified online. The KTO has also conducted several events which were held in a hybrid manner. For a hybrid event, we have held gatherings with media and influencers. We hold the offline event at the hotel, henceforth those who want to participate online can watch it on our Instagram channel. KTO itself is one of the loyal participants of the annual tourism exchange event held by TTC Indonesia, namely TTC Travel Mart,” concluded Tedjo. [traveltext.id]
