South Korea Market Report

Transcription

1 Visit Finland South Korea South Korea Market Report Jani Toivanen November

2 Semiannual Report SOUTH KOREA Summer season 2017 and outlook for winter CONTENTS What factors have affected the results of the summer season, especially with regard to Finland? What are the prospects for the coming winter season? Other important things to pay attention to Trends and other travel related topics Facts and figures

3 Semiannual Report SOUTH KOREA Summer season 2017 and outlook for winter What factors have affected the results of the summer season, especially with regard to Finland? Continuing Nordic boom and increasing positive exposure in media, spreading word of mouth by visitors who have been to Finland previously What are the prospects for the coming winter season? Expected to continue the fast growth seen in the summer season and previous winter season. Other important things to pay attention to Winter Olympics 2018 held in PyongChang, South Korea Feb-March. Trends and other travel related topics Package tours becoming more and more a thing for elderly generations (50+), increasing popularity of FIT among younger generations. Facts and figures Rapid growth of Koreans traveling overseas (total average 15.9% increase in 2016, and 17.7% increase during Jan-Aug 2017.

4 What factors have affected the results of the summer season, especially with regard to Finland? Reasons for the increase/decrease in travelling to Finland? Campaign results Many Korean tour agencies have added Coast & Archipelago (mainly Turku & Naantali) to their offering, thus increasing Korean travel to the region. Products or destinations that have been successful Helsinki remains undisputedly the most popular destination, but Coast & Archipelago has risen as a new summer destination, also experiencing high growth during the season (+33.5%). Changes in demand Increased demand as Koreans are traveling more and more every year. As many Korean travelers have experienced western Europe already, they set their sights to North Europe as the next destination. Changes in distribution or accessibility Increased and more diverse destination offering by tour agencies.

5 What are the prospects for the coming winter season? The overall outlook of travelling to Finland for the coming winter? Increase/decrease Growth in Korean travelers expected to continue double-digit growth rate. Reasons for the expectations Increased exposure of Finland in local media, continuing Aurora trend. New products/prospects Expanded Lapland offering How attractive are round trips (visiting at least two Nordic countries or at least two destinations in Finland)? Combined multi-country trips still the main source of Korean visits to Finland. Nordic countries are mainly considered as a combined round trip destination instead of individual countries. However, alternatively Finland can often be combined with Russia, or Baltic countries to a lesser extent. What trends should be considered in product development to increase the demand in the winter time? Auroras are a strong trend pulling people to countries like Canada, Iceland, Norway and Finland. Unique, yet not too extreme experiences considered attractive. Ability to see as many different places as possible on a single trip are important factors when deciding travel locations. Which target groups should be considered to increase the demand? Main: Younger generations (20 s, 30 s) Secondary: Families with children

6 What are the prospects for the coming winter season? Marketing opportunities TO cooperation Looking into ways to cooperate with the TO:s Campaigns with TA:s like picture competitions and lucky draws good way to attract interest Events Hanatour Travel Fair July 2018 Moi Moi Workshop 2018 PR Joint marketing campaign with a major TA (eg. Picture competitions, lucky draws) Sending media to Matka Travel Fair VF Media tours Press conference (eg. Moi Moi Workshop) Social media Sending influencial power bloggers to VF Media tours Instagram becoming most popular social media utilize VF instagram to target more Koreans

7 Other important things to pay attention to New distribution channels Your suggestion on how to develop business with them: what needs to be done? Continue reaching out to new TA:s, provide necessary information many lack information related to Finland and cannot find it online. Regular catching up and assisting with information and material Online channels Channels where Visit Finland should be present Instagram, Facebook (Korean content) Naver Blog (ref. Swiss Tourism: Suggestion of how to be present English Instagram/Facebook to draw Korean followers with targeted content Naver Blog can be operated in-house to some extent, but requires producing interesting targeted articles and content in Korean language.

8 Other important things to pay attention to Competitors actions Which countries (our competitors) have been active Switzerland, Japan highly active in marketing and promotions. Where have you seen their promotion Travel magazines (KTX train magazine, AB Road travel magazine, other magazines) Many travel agencies have a Switzerland promotion stands at their lobbies Japan TV advertisements countries at Travel / Tour Exhibitions What was the main message/content of the communication Enjoy nature & outdoors (Switzerland), culture and food (Japan) Any special features / themes in Outdoor activities ( hard & soft adventures / activities)? Hiking, nature trails, nature within city Balancing between city tour and nature tour is important. Any special themes in Culture? Food and restaurants

9 Other important things to pay attention to Upcoming Tourism Events in 2017 Q4, and Name Date Location 2017 Hana Tour Travel Exhibition ~ Online 2017 Modu Tour Travel Exhibition ~11.19 COEX 1F A-hall 2017 Timon Travel Exhibition ~11.26 Online 2018 Korea World Travel Fair ~06.17 COEX 1F A-hall 2018 The 21st Busan International Travel Fair ~09.10 Bexco 2018 The 15th Tour Expo Daegu Gyeongbuk ~04.15 EXCO 2018 Asian TOP100 Tourism Cities Mayors Conference ~4.14. EXCO 2018 Hana Tour Travel Exhibition (TBC) KINTEX 2018 Modu Tour Travel Exhibition (TBC) 2018 Interpark Travel Exhibition (TBC) 2018 Timon Travel Exhibition (TBC) 2018 Korean Travel Fair (TBC) 2018 Asiana Travel Exhibition (TBC)

10 Other important things to pay attention to Trends and other travel related topics Any new travel trends on your market? Travel to nature away from hectic city life Grand sights & phenomenon eg. Auroras Traveling like a local (eg. B&B instead of hotels) younger generations Food travel traveling to enjoy delicious foods (Eatertainment) SNS mania writing blogs, Instagram pictures Traveling alone Education tour (especially teachers, education staff) What s hot now on your market (BtoC and/or BtoB) Same as above, especially traveling like a local and travel alone (BtoC) Free word Something else that you would like to say to the Finnish travel trade or Visit Finland South Korea is highly potential market that continues strong growth, but to truly tap into the potential requires investment and active cooperation with the tour operators and travel agencies. Marketing campaigns and media are the most influential channels to make a new travel trend. Balancing between city tour and nature tour is important. Quantity is also popular for a Korean tourist (seeing as much as possible on one trip). The first Finland specific tour guidebook written in Korean was published in Nov 2017 by TA Chalet Travel and available in Korean bookstores

11 Facts and figures South Korean Overnights in Finland South Korean Overnights by Season Winter season (11-04) Summer season (05-10) Share of overnights by regions % 7% 5% 9% Most of the Korean travelers visit Finland during the summer season Korean travelers go abroad more in the summer time due to the timing of school and work holidays Wanting to escape the humid hot summer in Korea is another affecting factor Sources: Statistics Service Rudolf, Visit Finland Market Review by Jani Toivonen 6/2017

12 South Korean overnights in Finland High seasons: winter and summer 2017 South Korea High winter season (12-02) 2017 Nights spent Change of nights spend, % WHOLE COUNTRY ,3 HELSINKI METROPOLITAN AREA ,8 LAPLAND ,9 LAKELAND ,9 COAST AND ARCHIPELAGO ,2 South Korea High summer season (06-08) 2017 Nights spent Change of nights spend, % WHOLE COUNTRY ,6 HELSINKI METROPOLITAN AREA ,3 COAST AND ARCHIPELAGO ,5 LAKELAND ,0 LAPLAND ,2 Source: Visit Finland Statistics Service Rudolf, Statistics Finland

13 South Korea Latest overnight figures Jan-Aug 2017 Nights spent Nights spent Jan-Aug 2017 Foreign Russian Federation Germany Sweden United Kingdom China and Hong Kong France United States Netherlands Japan Norway Estonia Switzerland Italy Spain Korea, Republic Of Change of nights spent, % Total foreign 19,4 20,2 23,7 16,3 11,7 12,2 11,2 11,6 South Korea 30,4-17,2 0,8-6,3 28,7 29,6 17,5 24,8 January-August 2017 South Korea Nights spent Change of nights spent, % Jan-Aug 2017 Jan-Aug 2017 WHOLE COUNTRY ,5 HELSINKI METROPOLITAN AREA ,2 LAPLAND ,8 COAST AND ARCHIPELAGO ,3 LAKELAND ,3 Source: Visit Finland Statistics Service Rudolf, Statistics Finland