TOURISM INDUSTRY EXPANDS ONLINE SERVICES

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Non-contact services have emerged as a popular trend amid the pandemic. The tourism sector, which has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, is also expanding its online services in a bid to survive.

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[Soundbite] "Hello. (Hello.)"

Officials at the Gyeonggi Tourism Organization greet the staff of a travel agency in Singapore, then tell them about the history and major tourist spots in the DMZ area. It's a tourism promotional event held on Facebook Live.

[Soundbite] LEE JAE-BAEK(GYEONGGI TOURISM ORGANIZATION) : "We believe we should publicize our region pro-actively even in times like these to raise awareness of our tourist attractions."

Because of the pandemic, the conventional way of holding tourism promotional events is replaced with non-contact online methods. The Gyeonggi Tourism Organization is producing a webtoon about popular tourist attractions of Gyeonggi-do Province for the Chinese market. The webtoon is to be released on a Chinese online shopping mall with more than 300 million members. Come September, "Tick Tock" will be usedto broadcast live, contents involving travel influencers.

[Soundbite] LEE DONG-RYEOL(GYEONGGI TOURISM ORGANIZATION) : "We will hold live online promotional events in Mongolia via Skype on a regular basis."

The Gyeonggi Tourism Organization also plans to create an AI-based travel information service, by teaming up the governments of 31 cities and counties in the province.