DAEGU — Daegu is stepping up efforts to attract travelers from Greater China this autumn peak season, pitching K-food festivals and an expanded set of direct flights. The city is also putting weight behind overseas marketing and upgrades to lodging facilities to turn its packed autumn festival calendar into actual tourism demand.
Daegu will host a range of cultural and arts events this fall, including the Daegu International Opera Festival and a special exhibition on the Joseon-era painter Jeong Seon at the Daegu Kansong Art Museum, the city said on the 20th. A series of K-food festivals drawing on the city's signature culinary offerings, including a tteokbokki festival and a makchang (grilled beef and pork intestines) festival, will follow.
The city plans to pair that tourism content with an expanding roster of direct routes to Greater China. New services from Daegu International Airport to Hong Kong and Qingdao launched last year, and flights on the Shanghai route were increased this year, widening air links between Greater China and Daegu.
Daegu will hold tourism promotion briefings in Shanghai, Qingdao and Hong Kong, the three cities served by direct flights, and strengthen ties with local travel agencies. An airfare discount promotion currently offered to foreign passengers on the Daegu-Hong Kong route will be extended to the Shanghai and Qingdao routes.
"We will raise Daegu's profile by holding tourism promotion briefings in the three cities served by direct flights — Shanghai, Qingdao and Hong Kong," said Hwangbo Ran, director general of the city's Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau. "We will strengthen our network with the local travel industry so that this leads to actual tourism demand."
The city is also courting domestic travelers. It will take part in the second-half Korea Lodging Sale Festa run by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization, offering discount coupons for bookings at accommodations in Daegu. The aim is to lower travelers' cost of staying in the city and encourage overnight visits and local spending.
Daegu is moving faster on upgrading accommodations for group tourists as well. The city recently secured funding for the program through a supplementary budget. It plans to recruit participating businesses and subsidize costs such as converting rooms to twin-bed layouts and setting up simple breakfast service.
"The coming autumn is the best time to enjoy everything Daegu has to offer," Hwangbo said. "We will carry this through without a hitch, from attracting visitors to improving convenience for those who come, so that travelers from home and abroad visit Daegu and leave satisfied."
