Incheon, South Korea, June 23 (CNA) The chairman of the Korea Association of Travel Agents expressed the hope Friday that the number of visitors traveling between Taiwan and South Korea can be increased 50 percent in a year to at least 3 million by 2018.
A concerted effort will be made to expand transportation platforms in pursuit of that goal, said Yang Moo Seung at the annual Taiwan-South Korea Tourism Exchange Meeting in Incheon-Songdo on Friday.
He said he was hopeful that a big boost in tourism with Taiwan could be achieved and vowed to expand transportation platforms for travelers.
Taiwan Visitors Association Chairwoman Yeh Chu-lan attended the event with a Taiwanese delegation made up of representatives from local travel agencies, hotels, airlines, theme park operators and the municipal city governments of Taipei, Tainan and Kaohsiung.
At the 2016 Taiwan South Korea Tourism Exchange Meeting, the two sides adopted the goal of 2 million visitors traveling between the two countries for this year.
As of the end of April, the number of Taiwanese visitors to South Korea had reached 287,926, while 378,075 Korean travelers had come to Taiwan, according to data of Taiwan's Tourism Bureau.
Yeh said Taiwan will continue its efforts to realize the goal of 2 million travelers between the two countries this year.
Tourism Bureau Deputy Director-General Wayne Liu invited Incheon to join the Asian Cruise Fund program, developing multi-destination cruise travel packages through regional cooperation in an effort to expand the Asian cruise travel service market.
Liu also said the bureau will continue to promote Taiwanese culture, gourmet food and tour attractions, while taking the initiative to forge cooperative links with related Korean businesses in an effort to attract more Korean visitors to Taiwan.
The Asian Cruise Fund is a project initiated by Taiwan's Tourism Bureau and the Hong Kong Tourism Board to boost regional cooperation on cruise travel.
