January 30, 2003

2002 Was A Banner Year for Tourism In Korea

(Fort Lee, NJ) – The post-effects of the terrorist attacks in 2001 were a major blow to tourism everywhere and as a result, tourist numbers on a whole world-wide took a nose-dive. Generally speaking, there was only a partial crawl towards a rebound in 2002. But, the rebound in Korea tourism in the past year was nothing short of miraculous. 2002 turned out to be a banner year for tourism in Korea. There were a total of 5,347,328 visitor arrivals in Korea in 2002. That is a 3.9% increase from the previous year (2001).

The 2002 FIFA World Cup soccer games were also a major boost for Korea tourism in 2002. The World Cup games, in which Korea clinched 4th place, saw an increase of 12% and 10% for American visitors during June/July respectively and an increase of 55% and 18% for European visitors in June/July following the games. The World Cup games also created 185,000 jobs.

These numbers are proof that Korea is still the Hub of Asia, a major tourist destination that attracts millions each year consistently.

For more information, please call 1-800-TOUR-KOR(EA) or visit www.tour2korea.com.