Good morning from Skift. It’s Friday, July 26, and here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
15.07.2024 - 11:29 / skift.com / Peden Doma Bhutia
South Korea has announced the K-pop girl group NewJeans as its tourism ambassador.
South Korea’s global cultural influence, known as the Hallyu wave, has profoundly impacted its tourism industry. This surge in popularity, driven by Korean pop culture, entertainment, music, TV dramas, and movies, has significantly attracted younger international visitors to the country.
Formed in 2022, the five-member band of Danielle, Minji, Hanni, Haerin and Hyein has quickly risen to prominence, making history as the fastest non-Japanese act to headline Tokyo Dome in less than two years since its debut. The girls also became the first K-pop female group to win Group of the Year at the 2024 Billboard Women in Music Awards.
NewJeans will now join the list of K-pop megastars BTS, Squid Game star and Emmy-winner Lee Jung-jae, K-pop sensation EXO, Premier League football star Son Heung-min as well as singer and actor Cha Eun-woo, who have previously served as tourism brand ambassadors.
The Korean tourism ministry aims to capitalize on the band’s influence among younger audiences.
Of the 11 million foreign tourists that Korea welcomed in 2023, nearly 4 million were aged 30 or younger, according to data from the Korea Tourism Data Lab. A study by the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute found that 32% of these young tourists traveled to Korea primarily to experience Hallyu (Korean wave) content. This trend marks a notable increase from 2013, when only 27% of visitors were under 30.
The global appeal of Korean culture has not only lowered the average age of visitors but has also diversified the demographic profile. Visitors from Japan and China dominate this younger age group, with significant numbers also coming from France, the U.K, Germany, the Netherlands, Mexico and U.S. As a result, South Korea has tailored its promotional campaigns to target this specific age group.
Earlier this year, the government announced that it would be launching a K-Culture visa, an embrace of K-pop as a powerful cultural export and an essential element of the Korean Wave.
South Korea’s new tourism campaign, focusing on the global 2030 generation, aims to highlight unique, local experiences. The campaign, featuring NewJeans, showcases a theme of “Koreans’ Korea,” emphasizing authentic, local perspectives.
The video that takes a dig at “same old boring itineraries suggested by AI” shows travelers how “Koreans are truly having fun these days.”
The promotional videos, launched on the Korea Tourism Organization’s YouTube channel, highlight gourmet food and local experiences. These videos will also be displayed on billboards across 12 major cities worldwide, including New York, Tokyo, Shanghai, Bangkok, Dubai, and Mexico City. Additionally,
Good morning from Skift. It’s Friday, July 26, and here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
It’s been whispered about for months, but now it’s official. After more than 50 years, Southwest Airlines is doing away with one of its signature policies — open seating.
Planning and booking a fall or winter getaway just got cheaper. Southwest Airlines recently announced a new Wanna Get Away fare sale with airfares as low as $49 one-way to popular destinations. Best of all, travelers can snag discounted tickets to Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and other warm destinations throughout the winter. The fare sale ends on July 29, 2024 at 11:59 PM PST, and is valid on travel through January 29, 2025. The sale may be especially helpful for anyone planning a vacation to Hawaii, as inter-island travel is also discounted. Passengers can score $49 one-way flights from Honolulu International Airport to Hilo (Hawaii Island), Kahului (Maui), and Kona. Travel + Leisure spotted a variety of the $49 one-way fares available including:
Southwest Airlines is flying somewhere it's never flown before: into the night.
In a shift in global mobility rankings, Singapore has claimed the top spot in the 2024 Henley Passport Index released on Wednesday, granting its citizens visa-free access to 195 countries.
Taiwan is set to join the growing list of East Asian countries offering digital nomad visas.
I spent a week on safari in South Africa, visiting three different reserves.
American Airlines is growing its domestic operation with the addition of a new destination.
Over the coming weeks, some 15 million visitors will descend upon Paris for the 2024 Olympics. And many will linger longer, hitting the country’s hotspots such as the much-loved Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, which already teems with travelers. So if you’ve been eyeing a hotel nestled in the quaint town of Gordes, or dreaming about a dip off the coast of Antibes or Saint-Tropez, you might want to think again. But that doesn’t mean you have to rule out a sojourn to the South of France altogether–other sunny locations including lesser-trafficked Marseille and the Luberon Valley, sans Masseratis and glitzy Gucci slides, are indeed worthwhile for a quiet city break.
Japan is bracing for a tourism boom like never before. With a record 35 million foreign visitors expected this year and tourism spending projected to hit an unprecedented JPY 8 trillion ($51 billion), the country is seeing a surge driven by a weak yen.
Korean Air is launching a new business-class product — and it's debuting in just a few days.
Jul 22, 2024 • 7 min read