Phuket holiday operators to woo more Korean tourists

PHUKET, April 8 (TNA) – Phuket tourism authorities will be in South Korea April 25-30 to promote Thai tourism there in the hope of attracting more Korean tourists to Thailand's Andaman Sea tourist haven.

Phuket Tourism Association president Somboon Jirayus said representatives of the association and the Phuket Provincial Administrative Organization will travel to Seoul and Busan for the upcoming road show, supported by Tourism Authority of Thailand’s South East Asian Market and Seoul Offices.

Mr Somboon said around 20 million people live in Seoul, and about 5 million in Busan, and four airlines currently operate direct flights from Seoul to Phuket and vice versa.

He believed that this market penetration will be much of interest to South Koreans, for there are already many of their tourists coming to Thailand, with the number increasing every year.

According to statistics, South Korean couples love to celebrate their honeymoon in Phuket. In 2007, some 220,000 Korean travellers chose Thailand as their destination, while in the following two years, the number of tourists increased to 250,000.

This year, it is expected that more than 270,000 South Korean visitors will enter Thailand. (TNA)