KTO Grabs Best
Exhibitor Award at ITB 2008

Wins the right to host the IMTC in Seoul in Nov.

The Korea Tourism Organization won the "Best Exhibitor Award"in the Asia-Oceania category of the ITB (Internationale Tourismus Boerse) 2008, held in Berlin from March 5-9.
KTO's Korean pavilion topped the Asia-Oceania category among the pavilions of the ITB 2008. The ITB Organizing Committee, the German Tourism Association and the Cologne Business School (CBS) jointly assessed exhibitors in 11 categories, including hotels, airlines, Europe, Asia-Oceania and Africa in terms of pavilion design, event and pavilion operation. KTO ranked second in the category in 2006 and third in 2007.
In cooperation with the Korean Cultural Heritage Administration and the Korean Buddhism Cultural Business Corps., KTO held an event designed to help spectators experience royal cuisine demonstration and temple stay as Korea's representative cultural heritage. The Korean team was given higher scores since it prepared a German-language leaflet designed to guide individual tourists as well as a guide map.
Spectators were also given an opportunity to get a glimpse into Korean culture with performances of traditional Korean dances and plays during the whole of the exhibition period.
Shin Pyeong-seop, chief of the KTO Frankfurt Office, said, "Compared with Korea's stopover rivals ―Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan ― Korea can offer more attractive diverse things, including trips to Gaeseong, North Korea, an experience of Korea's royal cuisine and temple stay, and through joint marketing activities for synergetic effects among national flag carriers and local government, Korea is forecast to see an era of attracting 100,000 German tourists in 2008."Figures released by KTO showed that the number of German tourists to Korea registered a 15 percent surge in the first two months of the year over the same period last year.
Meanwhile, KTO said it succeeded in winning the right to host the 3rd International Medical Travel Conference (IMTC), to be held in Seoul from Nov. 11 through Nov. 14.
The IMTC, marking the third year,
was held in Singapore in 2006 and the Philippines in 2007.
KTO Officials said the 3rd IMTC will be designed to hold one-on-one business meetings between suppliers of tours for medical treatment and consumers, and it will be an opportunity to publicize Korea's medical service standing as well as attract foreign patients and raise Korea's competitive edge.
About 300 people from insurance firms, medical tour agents, travel agencies, government officials and hospital officials from 23 countries attended the 2nd IMTC held in Manila.
Chung Jin-soo, chief of the Strategic Product Development Team at KTO, "In cooperation with the Korea Health Industry Development Institute and other organization, KTO will continue efforts to publicize Korea's medical service standing and attract tourists for medical treatment by attending foreign events and holding PR sessions on Korea's medical services abroad." nw

(right photo) Korea's information booth of the 2nd IMTC held in Manila. Korea won the right to host the 3rd IMTC in Seoul.(left, above photo) Korea's royal cuisine and temple stay are demonstrated before throngs of spectators during the recent ITB 2008 held in Berlin where KTO won the best exhibitor award in the Asia-Oceania category.