Taiwan's Emotional Appeal Takes Effect! Growth Rate of Korean Tourists to Kaohsiung Leads the Pack "Kaohsiung Cost-Effective" Taiwan-Korea Tourism Exchange Conference Shines Brightly
Updated:2025-08-21
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Taiwan-Korea tourism exchanges continue to intensify, with Kaohsiung City Government's Tourism Bureau actively cultivating the Korean market with outstanding results. Last September (2024), Director Kao Min-lin led Kaohsiung operators to Seoul and Busan to conduct "Kaohsiung Cost-Effective" international tourism promotional meetings and visited many heavyweight tour operators, airlines, and Korea Tourism Organization, resulting in Korean tourist accommodation nights in Kaohsiung growing by 44.52%, making it the fastest-growing source market with excellent performance! At a time when the Korean market is highly focused on "Taiwan's emotional appeal," to continue boosting Korean visitor momentum, Tourism Bureau Director Kao Min-lin attended the "38th TVA/KATA Taiwan-Korea Tourism Exchange Conference" in Mokpo City, Korea from June 18-20, promoting Kaohsiung's tourism highlights to Korea Association of Travel Agents (KATA), Korea Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Korea Tourism Organization, travel agencies, and airline representatives, strengthening long-term planning for Taiwan-Korea tourism exchanges and city marketing.
Kao Min-lin explained that "Taiwan's emotional appeal" has sparked heated discussions on Korean social media, attracting numerous Korean tourists, music videos, and programs to come to Taiwan for filming and visits. Taiwan has become a "healing sanctuary" in Korean travelers' hearts. According to statistics from the Ministry of Transportation and Communications and Kaohsiung City Government's Tourism Bureau, Korean visitors to Taiwan exceeded 1 million last year, with Korean tourists showing the highest growth rate among foreign visitors staying in Kaohsiung accommodations at 44.52%, exceeding 160,000 visitors with strong growth momentum. Kaohsiung has recently once again won the national championship for tourism satisfaction and ranked first nationwide in tourist arrivals, making it Taiwan's most representative and best travel destination; we hope that through this Taiwan-Korea Tourism Exchange Conference, with exquisite presentations and video materials, we can fully explain Kaohsiung's diverse tourism attractions to major Korean tourism operators, airlines, media, and others. Kao Min-lin stated that Kaohsiung possesses abundant tourism resources including mountains, sea, rivers, and harbors, along with convenient transportation conditions, while Kaohsiung's new city image and diverse attractions such as Love River Bay are the top choices for Generation MZ independent travelers, families with children, educational trips, sporting events, and concert fans, hoping to further deepen Taiwan-Korea cooperation through this conference and attract more Korean tourists to choose Kaohsiung as their preferred destination when traveling to Taiwan.
Kao Min-lin further pointed out that the Tourism Bureau actively encourages airlines and travel operators to open new routes to Kaohsiung, with Kaohsiung International Airport currently operating 44 direct flights to Korea weekly, covering major destinations including Incheon, Gimpo, Busan, and Jeju. This year brought even better news with t'way air resuming the "Kaohsiung-Gimpo" route and Tigerair Taiwan launching the new "Kaohsiung-Jeju" direct flight service, further expanding transportation options and convenience for Korean tourists visiting Kaohsiung; direct flights from Kaohsiung to Korea average approximately 2.5 to 3 hours flight time, providing great convenience and appeal for Korean tourists' independent travel and group tours. Kaohsiung absolutely matches Korean tourists' preferences for convenient flight routes, short-duration trips, and extremely high cost-performance ratio with "cost-effective" tourism characteristics, which can attract more Korean tourists to visit Kaohsiung for sightseeing. Ambassador Liang Kuang-chung of the Taipei Mission in Korea also expressed encouragement for Korean tourists to make greater use of direct flights to central and southern Taiwan to experience the warmth and charm of southern Taiwan.
The Tourism Bureau explained that the "Taiwan-Korea Tourism Exchange Conference" serves as an annual event for the tourism industries of both countries, alternately hosted by the Taiwan Visitors Association (TVA) and Korea Association of Travel Agents (KATA) each year, representing an important platform for maintaining bilateral friendship and exchanging tourism topics. This year, nearly 200 tourism industry opinion leaders and government representatives from both countries gathered with the theme "New Era of Taiwan-Korea Tourism: Enhancing Global Travel Competitiveness" to jointly discuss future tourism development visions for Taiwan and Korea, expecting to achieve the goal of 3 million mutual visits between Taiwan and Korea. At the conference's conclusion, it was announced that the next Taiwan-Korea Tourism Exchange Conference will be held in Pingtung County, Taiwan in 2026, and Kaohsiung, as southern Taiwan's international gateway, will represent Taiwan in the front line to welcome and host distinguished guests from Korea, with Kaohsiung further connecting tourism resources of southern counties and cities such as Pingtung and Tainan, as well as outlying islands like Penghu and Matsu, expanding cooperation potential and visibility for Kaohsiung and southern Taiwan in the Korean tourism market.
The Tourism Bureau stated that this year it continues to exchange with Korea Tourism Organization, Gyeonggi Tourism Organization, and Jeju Tourism Organization and explore cooperation directions, promoting bilateral tourism interaction and city brand marketing. As Kaohsiung's international city visibility continues to rise, Korea Tourism Organization chose Kaohsiung Music Center to host the "Drinking Festival" in December last year and the "Korea Culture & Tourism Exhibition" in May this year, using Korean independent music and authentic cuisine to deepen cultural connections between Kaohsiung and Korean people, conveying the forward-looking importance placed on Kaohsiung's international tourism market.
The Tourism Bureau added that Kaohsiung, combining harbors, music, cuisine, and culture, has become an emerging popular city for Korean young people's travel. Korean Wave superstars including BLACKPINK, TWICE, Super Junior, and Park Bo-gum from the drama "From Now On, Showtime!" have all chosen Kaohsiung for overseas concerts and fan meetings, with the concert economy driving growth in accommodation, transportation, and consumption while significantly enhancing the city's international visibility. In the future, the Tourism Bureau will integrate resources to expand the scale of Korean visitor arrivals, making Kaohsiung the most familiar and interesting Taiwanese city in Korean tourists' hearts. For more information, please visit the "Kaohsiung Travel" official website and Facebook、Instagram fan pages.
Kao Min-lin explained that "Taiwan's emotional appeal" has sparked heated discussions on Korean social media, attracting numerous Korean tourists, music videos, and programs to come to Taiwan for filming and visits. Taiwan has become a "healing sanctuary" in Korean travelers' hearts. According to statistics from the Ministry of Transportation and Communications and Kaohsiung City Government's Tourism Bureau, Korean visitors to Taiwan exceeded 1 million last year, with Korean tourists showing the highest growth rate among foreign visitors staying in Kaohsiung accommodations at 44.52%, exceeding 160,000 visitors with strong growth momentum. Kaohsiung has recently once again won the national championship for tourism satisfaction and ranked first nationwide in tourist arrivals, making it Taiwan's most representative and best travel destination; we hope that through this Taiwan-Korea Tourism Exchange Conference, with exquisite presentations and video materials, we can fully explain Kaohsiung's diverse tourism attractions to major Korean tourism operators, airlines, media, and others. Kao Min-lin stated that Kaohsiung possesses abundant tourism resources including mountains, sea, rivers, and harbors, along with convenient transportation conditions, while Kaohsiung's new city image and diverse attractions such as Love River Bay are the top choices for Generation MZ independent travelers, families with children, educational trips, sporting events, and concert fans, hoping to further deepen Taiwan-Korea cooperation through this conference and attract more Korean tourists to choose Kaohsiung as their preferred destination when traveling to Taiwan.
Kao Min-lin further pointed out that the Tourism Bureau actively encourages airlines and travel operators to open new routes to Kaohsiung, with Kaohsiung International Airport currently operating 44 direct flights to Korea weekly, covering major destinations including Incheon, Gimpo, Busan, and Jeju. This year brought even better news with t'way air resuming the "Kaohsiung-Gimpo" route and Tigerair Taiwan launching the new "Kaohsiung-Jeju" direct flight service, further expanding transportation options and convenience for Korean tourists visiting Kaohsiung; direct flights from Kaohsiung to Korea average approximately 2.5 to 3 hours flight time, providing great convenience and appeal for Korean tourists' independent travel and group tours. Kaohsiung absolutely matches Korean tourists' preferences for convenient flight routes, short-duration trips, and extremely high cost-performance ratio with "cost-effective" tourism characteristics, which can attract more Korean tourists to visit Kaohsiung for sightseeing. Ambassador Liang Kuang-chung of the Taipei Mission in Korea also expressed encouragement for Korean tourists to make greater use of direct flights to central and southern Taiwan to experience the warmth and charm of southern Taiwan.
The Tourism Bureau explained that the "Taiwan-Korea Tourism Exchange Conference" serves as an annual event for the tourism industries of both countries, alternately hosted by the Taiwan Visitors Association (TVA) and Korea Association of Travel Agents (KATA) each year, representing an important platform for maintaining bilateral friendship and exchanging tourism topics. This year, nearly 200 tourism industry opinion leaders and government representatives from both countries gathered with the theme "New Era of Taiwan-Korea Tourism: Enhancing Global Travel Competitiveness" to jointly discuss future tourism development visions for Taiwan and Korea, expecting to achieve the goal of 3 million mutual visits between Taiwan and Korea. At the conference's conclusion, it was announced that the next Taiwan-Korea Tourism Exchange Conference will be held in Pingtung County, Taiwan in 2026, and Kaohsiung, as southern Taiwan's international gateway, will represent Taiwan in the front line to welcome and host distinguished guests from Korea, with Kaohsiung further connecting tourism resources of southern counties and cities such as Pingtung and Tainan, as well as outlying islands like Penghu and Matsu, expanding cooperation potential and visibility for Kaohsiung and southern Taiwan in the Korean tourism market.
The Tourism Bureau stated that this year it continues to exchange with Korea Tourism Organization, Gyeonggi Tourism Organization, and Jeju Tourism Organization and explore cooperation directions, promoting bilateral tourism interaction and city brand marketing. As Kaohsiung's international city visibility continues to rise, Korea Tourism Organization chose Kaohsiung Music Center to host the "Drinking Festival" in December last year and the "Korea Culture & Tourism Exhibition" in May this year, using Korean independent music and authentic cuisine to deepen cultural connections between Kaohsiung and Korean people, conveying the forward-looking importance placed on Kaohsiung's international tourism market.
The Tourism Bureau added that Kaohsiung, combining harbors, music, cuisine, and culture, has become an emerging popular city for Korean young people's travel. Korean Wave superstars including BLACKPINK, TWICE, Super Junior, and Park Bo-gum from the drama "From Now On, Showtime!" have all chosen Kaohsiung for overseas concerts and fan meetings, with the concert economy driving growth in accommodation, transportation, and consumption while significantly enhancing the city's international visibility. In the future, the Tourism Bureau will integrate resources to expand the scale of Korean visitor arrivals, making Kaohsiung the most familiar and interesting Taiwanese city in Korean tourists' hearts. For more information, please visit the "Kaohsiung Travel" official website and Facebook、Instagram fan pages.
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