31st Tourism Day Observed
- Hundreds receive medals, citations for achievement in tourism

 The Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Association held this year's 31st Tourism Day celebration in a ceremony Sept. 24 at the Crystal Ballroom of Hotel Lotte.

Attending the event included government officials, diplomats, and tourism industry leaders. Culture-Tourism Minister Chung Dong-chea, President Yoo Gun of the Korea National Tourism Organization(KNTO), Chung Un-sik, chairman of the Korea Tourism Association, and Francesco Frangialli, secretary-general of the World Tourism Organization(WTO) were present at the event, along with hundreds of industry people. Over one-hundred industry people received medals and citations for their contribution to the growth of the tourism industry in the country.

Kim Ki-byung, chairman of the Lotte Tourism Co. won the Gold Tower, Industrial Medal, for his achievement in the tourism industry. Park Chung-kyu, managing director of Seoul Royal Hotel, won the Stone Tower, Industrial Medal, for his role in upgrading services at tourist hotels including the development of special events to attract foreign tourists. Hwang Kyu-jin, general manger of the KAL Hotel in Jeju Island, won the Presidential citation for successfully managing various international events at the hotel for past 30 years. Hong Oe-sung, director of Korean Air won the Presidential citation for his contribution to the successful completion of transporting athletes and tourists during the World Cup and the Asian Games in Busan in 2002. Kim Jong-yen, president of the JW Marriot Hotel in Seoul, won the Tourism Promotion Tower for earning more than $16 million last year.

Culture-Tourism Minister Chung, in his speech, said today's ceremony is a meaningful occasion  to celebrate the 31st Tourism Day in Korea, and is also a festivity for those leaders being awarded for their achievements in the development of Korean tourism, and for all your tourism communities.  He said he would like to congratulate the winners being awarded, and express his heart-felt compliments to them. "Our participatory-style government, called' chamyeo-jeong-bu" is driving the establishment of new policies and plans for encouraging the tourism industry to prepare for a "five-day work-week" era that will become standard next year". He said, "In foreign policy, we are preparing to host the international headquarters of the ST-EP (Sustainable Tourism Eliminating Poverty) Foundation, in cooperation with the World Tourism Organization". He said they are also driving the development of joint tourism projects with Japan by proclaiming the next year 2005 as ?isit Korea and Japan Year".

Chung Un-sik, chairman of the Korea Tourism Association, in his speech, said the future of the tourism industry is very encouraging, as the Korean government has drawn up plans to host 10 million foreign visitors per year, and is reinforcing its support of various policies towards reaching this goal.

In order to achieve the goal and match the positive will of the government, the tourism community ought to naturally make its own efforts to upgrade its industry and take steps forward to stand in the center of Northeast Asia era.

Francesco Frangialli, secretary general of the World Tourism Organization, in his congratulatory speech, said it is always a pleasure to return to Seoul, this modern and hospitable capital that co-hosted WTO's General Assembly in 2001. In addition, the city that will now host the headquarters of ST-EP Foundation for sustainable tourism and the elimination of poverty. He said in light of the positive economic and political development of your country, he foresees a bright future and great tourism prospects, for this marvelous part of the world, which makes him even happier to address you today. There are several reasons for his optimism. Economic growth in Asia and other parts of the world is picking up, consequently tourism is also growing. The political culture in the world is becoming more mature, countries and regions now understand that, in our globalized society, the keys to success are cooperation, integration, and peace.

Tourism serves as a bridge between people and cultures, promoting peace and mutual respect. Tourism moves an enormous number of people from one country to another, almost 700 billion last year and a predicted 1.5 billion international travelers by 2020. "I am glad to report that the current year will be again a year of growth for the tourism industry and that the series of crises that have affected our sector have been overcome."  nw