Olympic Tourism

[Anchor Lead]

The PyeongChang Winter Olympics in approaching and most facilities have been completed waiting for final inspections. There’s excitement in the region that a tourism boom will accompany the 2018 games.

[Pkg]

The PyeongChang Winter Olympics will be a fierce competition of all winter sports. 12 stadiums have been completed and preparations are well under way. With the opening day fast approaching, preparations for a tourism Olympics are also picking up speed in local regions. The three host areas of PyeongChang, Gangneung and Jeongseon are getting ready to welcome tourists from home and abroad by hosting festivals and cultural and art performances. Other regions in Korea are also promoting travel products to lure Olympic tourists to their towns as well. Domestic hanwoo beef of Hoengseong County, the mining culture in Taebaek and Korean Wave or Hallyu destinations are just some of the attractions. Cities and counties are promoting their unique locality to draw in tourists.

[Soundbite] Lee Tae-woo(County Official, Hoengseong-gun County) : "We are carrying out 15 projects including official sponsor deals for Hoengseong hanwoo beef."

Gangwon-do Province and the Korea Tourism Organization are pushing the DMZ tour which particularly piques the interest of foreign visitors as the demilitarized zone is a testament to the divided state of Korea. An Olympic tour product has emerged, combining ecological and cultural features of the DMZ area. It has sparked the interest of foreign travel agencies.

[Soundbite] Kim Joo-yong(Public Official, Gangwon-do Prov.) : "We have developed a tour course to include content such as Olympic venues, DMZ tour, local festivals and food alleys."

Regional specialty sightseeing tours are being showcased so that tourists can make a second visit to Korea after they return home from the PyeongChang games.