GKL Accelerates Travel & Trade Strategy

Plans to cooperate with KOTRA, signs an MOU with the Korea Visit Committee

Grand Korea Leisure Co., Ltd (GKL) is causing a sensation in the casino industry with its own so-called "Travel & Trade" strategy, a hybrid marketing combining tour and trade.
KOTRA President Cho Hwan-eik visited Seven Luck Gangnam floor to exchange views with GKL President Kwon Oh-nam and other GKL executives on Feb. 8.
Kwon explained GKL's 2010 management and marketing policies and requested for KOTRA's concern and public relations. He expressed the hope Seven Luck Casino will be fully utilized in order to attract foreign buyers and facilitate business activities, saying that GKL plans to offer budgets and other available support to carry out collaboration projects with foreign buyers and investment companies.
GKL President Kwon said if buyers are attracted under a bigger framework of combining trade and tourism, it will result in an effect of "catching two birds with one stone" - doing business in daytime and offering entertainment in night time.
Praising Kwon's capability as the CEO of foreigner-exclusive casinos for attracting foreigners, Cho showed his keen interest in the way national competitiveness can be enhanced via a combination of travel and trade, saying that both companies will explore ways of conducting joint marketing.
GKL signed an MOU on mutual cooperation with the Visit Korea Committee for the successful implementation of projects related to the Visit Korea 2010 at the Korea Tourism Organization on March 15.
The agreement calls for both companies to push ahead with joint marketing strategies to expand the attractions of foreign tourists and raise Korea's tourism image.
In specific terms, the agreement stipulates both sides' joint publicity activities linking their overseas networks, the execution of their joint familiarization tours targeting major travel companies and media organizations, and the development of joint tourist products for attracting foreign clients.

Chung In-joon, chief of GKL Marketing Division, said, "The signing of the agreement on joint marketing is expected to contributing to creating a new tourist demand for foreign tourists and boosting the tourism industry." Grand Korea Leisure Co., Ltd (GKL), a public enterprise that operates the foreigners-exclusive casino Seven Luck Casino, was established to attract more foreign tourists and procure foreign currencies, to enhance the international competitiveness of the Korean casino industry and to establish a tourism infrastructure. nw

(right photo) GKL President Kown Oh-nam shakes hands with KOTRA President Cho Hwang-eik at a recent meeting. GKL signed an MOU on mutual cooperation with the Visit Korea Committee.