The “2023 Busan Travel Connect in Hanoi”, which took place on September 15, is expected to contribute to promoting the friendship between the two countries.

Lee Joung-Sil, BTO President/CEO, cited statistics showing that between January and June, Busan welcomed 190,000 tourists from Vietnam, making the country the fourth biggest source of holidaymakers to the Korean city, and the second largest in Southeast Asia.

Vietnam is an important market that should not be missed, he said, revealing that 20 travel firms of the RoK have come to Vietnam on this occasion.

Ha Van Sieu, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism (VNAT), stressed that the VNAT and the Korea Tourism Organisation (KTO) signed a cooperation document in February 2022, creating a foundation for the two sides to boost tourism collaboration, especially in the exchange of visitors after the COVID-19 pandemic.

After border reopening, the VNAT has launched many tourism promotion activities in the RoK, the official said, affirming his support for similar programmes rolled out by the RoK, including Busan, in Vietnam.

In the first eight months of this year, Vietnam served 7.8 million foreign visitors, 2.2 million of them from the RoK, the biggest source of arrivals to the Southeast Asian nation in the period.