S. Korea to woo one lakh Indian travellers in 2013

All set to charm Indian business and leisure travellers, South Korea plans to attract over 100,000 tourists from this country in 2013, which marks 40 years of diplomatic ties between the two countries, an official said here Monday.

The move kicked off with the opening of the Korean Cultural Centre in New Delhi last month and the new Korean Air connections starting March, said Jae-Sang Lee, director, Korea Tourism Organisation (KTO).

"Last year, there were 92,000 visitors from India to Korea, this year, we expect to welcome over 100,000 Indians," Lee said.

As an added attraction, 42 festivals have been designated as '2013 Culture Tourism Festivals' to target tourists from all over the world, the official said.

Starting Tuesday, South Korea is hosting the week-long Special Olympics World Winter Games 2013 in PyeongChang, which will also be the venue for the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Keen on tapping Bollywood, KTO plans to build relations with prominent production houses to shoot at its picturesque locales with subsidy guarantees, said KTO deputy director Charles Lim. - IANS