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korea
top Korean entertainment fl own in especially for the event. It will combine both traditional activities and contemporary music – K Pop bands will be coming over and there will be traditional food stalls. “All our current marketing efforts are going
towards driving footfall to that event. “Travel agents who complete the new online training course at
gokoreatraining.com will be invited to attend with incentives. The course is a bite-sized introduction to Korea and is being well received by agents so far.” Michael Michael, Marketing Manager, KNTO.
What’s new Airlines: Korean Air (
Koreanair.com) is debuting
its new B747-8s on the London-Seoul route. The stretch jumbo will be used on three of the daily services a week from August then for each of the daily fl ights from September 1. The aircraft will have 368 seats in a three-class confi guration. Cathay Pacifi c (cathaypacifi
c.com) launched a new
service from Manchester to Seoul via Hong Kong last December. It runs four times a week, departing Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. British Airways (
batraveltrade.com) upped its
Seoul frequency to daily last summer. Events: In addition to the annual Boryeong Mud Festival in July and Andong Mask Dance Festival in September, this year sees the second WTF World Cadet Taekwondo Championships take place at the
new Taekwondowon in Muju in August. Operators: TransIndus (
transindus.co.uk) has two new special interest tours for 2015: Flavours of the Far East, which combines Korea and Japan, and Korean Ceramics and Culture. Korea has a rich ceramics culture with renowned masters. Exodus (
exodus.co.uk) has introduced
‘Discover South Korea’ for 2015. Hotels: A Four Seasons (
fourseasons.com)
will soon open in Seoul’s central business district with 25 fl oors and 317 rooms. Starwood (
starwoodhotels.com) has a series of
new hotel openings in Seoul: the trendy Aloft Seoul Gangnam debuted in October near the COEX mall, a mid-market Four Points by Sheraton opens in May in the Yongsan-gu district. A Luxury Collection hotel called
The Parnas will arrive in 2017. Outside the capital, a Sheraton is scheduled for Daegu next summer while Busan will gain the country’s fi rst Citadines (
citadines.com)
aparthotel this
year.
Where to book it �REGENT HOLIDAYS – 020 7666 1244
Recent additions from Korea’s largest
hotel group Lotte (
lottehotel.com) include the Lotte City Hotel Jeju which includes an all- season outside spa pool with city views. Rail: A high speed train service now links Seoul and Dorosam Station – the closest to the Demilitarized Zone at the 38th Parallel.
The eight-day Highlights of South Korea group tour costs from £1,095pp, covering Seoul’s Gyeongbokgung Palace and Namdaemun Market; Gyeongju, Chomsongdae Astronomic Observatory and Busan. Included is accommodation, breakfasts, transportation, entrance fees and guides but
“Suggest three- or four-day stopovers in Seoul before clients head on to Japan so they can
break themselves in gently” CHINMAY VASAVADA, SOUTH EAST ASIA & FAR EAST SALES MANAGER, TRANSINDUS
not international fl ights.
regent-holidays.co.uk �ON THE GO – 020 7371 1113. The nine-day Seoul Searching & Jeju private tour priced from £2,669pp features the capital and DMZ, Busan, Gyeongju and volcanic Jeju island, with hiking in Mt.Hallasan National Park. It includes accommodation, breakfasts, driver-guide and domestic (not
Active attractions: A focus on sporting and leisure facilities has seen four of Korea’s main rivers refurbished to enable the creation of 1000kms of cycling paths. New World Heritage site Namhansanseong Fortress, close to Seoul, is
also proving popular with hikers. City attractions: The futuristic-looking Dongdaemun Design Plaza, situated near popular Dongdaemun Market is the latest of Seoul’s iconic buildings. It incorporates a design museum, exhibition space, shopping, galleries and a park that extends onto the building’s roof.
ddp.or.kr
Tourism talk “The UK tourist fi gures to Korea were around 133,000 in 2014 and we are aiming for 140,000 in 2015 and global
arrivals of 15,000,000. “Several new operators are due to release programmes and Different Snow is selling a new Korea ski and tour programme. “Our new marketing slogan is ‘Imagine Your
Korea’. We are using that as the title for a day of cultural celebration in London’s Trafalgar Square on August 9 that will be a celebration of Korea’s unique culture but also showcase Korea’s strong links with the UK. There will be Korean food and fashion, with interactive experiences available and
sellingtravel.co.uk
international) fl ights.
onthegotours.com �CHINA LINKS – 020 8543 8133 A 10-day Korea tour starts from £1,877pp. It includes a Taekwondo-themed itinerary and combines Seoul, the DMZ, Gyeongju and a temple stay with three days at the Taekwondowon centre in Muju, training from TKD masters and a visit
to Seoul’s Kukkiwon stadium.
chinalinkstravel.co.uk �EXPLORE – 01252 883 919 The 12-day South Korea Explorer covers Seoul, the DMZ, Gyeongju and Jeju plus Mount Seorak National Park, a homestay with breakfast and temple stay. From £2,930pp including fl ights, transport, guiding and some dinners.
explore.co.uk
C M Y CM MY CY CMY K
Clockwise from top left: Non-ak (Korean traditional music); Hanbaeksan Mountain, beach life at Gwangalli and Korean fl avours
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