뉴질랜드 관광청 발간 '투어리즘 뉴스 7월호 - 한국인들이 오고 있다'

[포항관광계열]

“한국인들이 오고 있다”

뉴질랜드 관광청, 한국을 주요 판촉 대상으로

'투어리즘 뉴스' 7월호 기사 통해

뉴질랜드 관광청 발간 '투어리즘 뉴스 7월호 - 한국인들이 오고 있다'

투어리즘 뉴스 7월호

   한국은 아시아에서 일본과 중국에 이어 세번째 경제대국이며, 뉴질랜드로 오는 한국 관광객은 꾸준히 증가하고 있다. 특히 2002년 월드컵과 주5일제 근무의 영향으로 한국인들의 해외관광은 계속 늘어날 전망이다.
 2003년 뉴질랜드 관광청의 의뢰로 시행된 조사에 따르면 한국시장을 상대하지 않는 일부 업체들은 낮은 이윤과 마케팅의 어려움이 장벽이라고 생각하고 있으나, 실제 한국시장에서 활동하는 업체들은 이러한 문제를 크게 부정적으로 생각지 않는 것으로 드러났다. 또한 최근의 세미나에서 일부 회사는 사업파트너의 신뢰도에 문제점을 제기했으나, 한국의 한화투어몰의 김봉 사장과 최근 “아시아 파워마켓”세미나의 한 발표자는 한국 상황이 빠르게 변화하고 있다고 전했다. 따라서 뉴질랜드 업계가 할 일은 사업파트너 선정에 신중을 기하고 가능하면 시장조사를 철저히 하는 일이다.

   한화투어몰 김봉 사장은 한국인들이 빠르게 세계화대열에 참여하고 있으며 결혼이 늦어지는 추세여서 독립적 해외여행이 가능하다고 전하면서, 특히 한국 미혼여성이 큰 소비자가 되었으며 이들의 관광지 후보로서 뉴질랜드의 부상 가능성을 언급했다. (뉴질랜드를 웰빙 여행지로 소개한 한국 여성잡지 “도베(DOVE)" 표지사진 게재)

   한국은 세계에서 인터넷 설비가 가장 잘된 나라 중 하나이다. 따라서 한국시장에서 활동하고자 하는 업체는 한국어로 광고물을 준비해야 하며 인터넷 서비스도 물론이다. 뉴질랜드 관광청은 2003년 8월부터 newzealand.com에 한국어서비스를 시작했는데 방문자수가 치솟아 매월 4000여명에 이른다. <Let's Go>, <Blue Guide>, <Lonely Planet>은 인기있는 가이드북이며, 중앙일보, 조선일보, 동아일보도 영향력이 있다. TV에서는 뉴스, 드라마, 스포츠 시청률이 높다.

   영화 또한 한국에서 인기가 높다. 우리의 판촉대상 중 1/3이 적어도 한달에 한번 영화를 본다고 대답했다. <반지의 제왕>은 젊은 사람들 사이에 뉴질랜드를 홍보하는 데 매우 효과적이었다. 한국은 자체적으로 상당한 영화산업을 갖고 있고 아시아에 영향력을 미치고 있으며 최근에는 뉴질랜드에서 영화촬영을 하기도 한다.
   한국시장을 방문하고 싶은 사업자는 뉴질랜드 관광청 서울지사에 연락하여 사업계획 수립 및 시행에 도움을 받을 수 있다.

                        <아래는 원본 기사입니다>
Macro Factors
Korea is Asia's third-largest economy after Japan and China. Recent political turmoil has made consumers a little more cautious in their spending. However outbound travel, and visitors to New Zealand in particular, continue to grow at a healthy rate.
The growth in numbers has definitely been helped by the increase in flights between Seoul and New Zealand. Both Korean Airlines and Asiana now operate regular services to Auckland and Korean Airlines has also re-introduced non-stop flights to Christchurch for the 2003/04 summer.
Consumer Dynamics
In a similar way to how the 1988 Seoul Olympics marked the beginning of Korean outbound travel, the 2002 Football World Cup is marking the beginning of a second phase in the market's development.
It is only since the Seoul Olympics that Koreans have been able to travel overseas. And it is only a year since the official working week has become Monday to Friday  before then Saturday morning was also work time. The combination of these factors, and an increase in annual holiday leave to 25 days has given Koreans the opportunity to discover the world of travel.
Issues
The Korean market in New Zealand has had its share of issues. In the 1990s low value and unpaid bills resulted in difficulties for New Zealand operators. And then in the late 1990s the Asian crisis saw visitor numbers plummet.
The 'Asian Profitability Survey' on New Zealand business attitudes to the Korean market (conducted by Tourism New Zealand in late 2003) showed that the market is valued for providing off-peak business, and its future potential is acknowledged. However, the market is also still seen by many New Zealand tourism businesses as being rather risky, with integrity of business partners being a significant concern. Whilst low yield and difficulty of marketing are seen as big barriers by companies not dealing in the Korean market, companies who are actually active in the market at present did not see these issues so negatively.
A recent Tourism New Zealand seminar series also highlighted some companies' concerns about business partner integrity. But Mr Kim Bong, President of the Korean wholesaler Hanwha Tournall, and a speaker at the recent Tourism New Zealand 'Asian Power Market' seminar series in Auckland, Rotorua and Christchurch, says that things are changing fast in Korea.
The best thing that New Zealand businesses can do is exercise prudence in selection of business partners and if possible visit the market to better understand distribution options.
Opportunities
Mr Kim says that Korean people are rapidly becoming worldlier in their experience and outlook, and that demographics in the country are changing. Koreans are marrying later, allowing more opportunity for independent world exploration.
In this regard, he suggested that, like Japan, single Korean women in particular represented a big opportunity for Free Independent Traveller (FIT) development for New Zealand. At the moment, New Zealand is not top-of-mind as a FIT destination within this sector, with closer destinations like Japan (whilst expensive) and those renowned for their shopping, like Singapore and Hong Kong, leading the charge.
North America and Europe have also seemingly recovered from the nervousness around the global incidents of the last few years. Both these regions have a very high profile in Korea, and are seen as 'easy' as they have the same left-hand driving rules.
So, it seems New Zealand is yet to capitalise on the FIT target market. Only 37 percent of Korean visitors to our shores hail from this group, even though research shows that they make up 54 percent of long-haul Korean travellers. This could change however, with New Zealand quoted by FITs surveyed as the second most-likely destination to visit next, after Australia.

Outdoors
An advantage for New Zealand is Koreans' love of the outdoors. There are an estimated seven million skiers and five million trampers in the country, with more extreme activities like mountain biking and mountain climbing also gaining popularity.
Reaching Consumers
Korea is one of the most wired markets in the world, and Tourism New Zealand research indicates that a massive 81 percent of Interactive Travellers in Korea use the internet daily. Popular travel portals include Korean Airlines' website, Yahoo and Nextour (a major Korean wholesaler).
For those wanting to operate in the market, it is critical to have marketing material available in Korean language. On-line is no exception. Tourism New Zealand launched a Korean language version of newzealand.com in August 2003. User sessions quickly reached about 4000 per month.
Let's Go, Blue Guide, and Lonely Planet are popular guide books, while the top three daily newspapers  Joong An Ilbo, Chosun Ilbo, and Dong A Ilbo are also powerful influencers. News, drama, and sports are the most watched categories on TV amongst Korean Interactive Travellers.
Movies are also popular, both on TV and at the cinema. One third of our target market claim that they go to the movies at least once a month. The Lord of the Rings has also been very helpful in lifting New Zealand's profile amongst younger people. Korea also has its own significant movie industry which is making waves right through Asia, with several recent local productions filmed in New Zealand.
Training
Mr Kim noted that Korean travel agents and the New Zealand industry need to work hard in training product planners and front-line staff on the FIT opportunity. Few staff have actually yet experienced independent travel in New Zealand and this is a major barrier to making Koreans aware.
Tourism New Zealand plans to establish a networking system in Korea this year to better inform and introduce movers and shakers in the Korean industry to what New Zealand has to offer.
If you are interested in visiting the market, Tourism New Zealand can assist with planning and implementation  please contact Kenny Ji (based in Seoul) kennyji@itnpr.co.kr.