By Eryk Michael Smith / KH City Govt
Kaohsiung officials were in Busan, South Korea, last month for the first Global City Tourism Summit, an event organized by the Tourism Promotion Organization (TPO), the Busan Metropolitan Government, and the Busan Tourism Organization. The meeting brought together about 1,200 representatives from 22 cities in 13 countries.
Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau Director-General Kao Min-lin (高閔琳) attended the mayor-level roundtable, held bilateral talks with Busan officials, and promoted the city to tourism and aviation partners from South Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia, and Europe.
Kao met with Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon (朴亨埈) and Busan Tourism and MICE Bureau Director Kim Hyun-jae (金鉉載). Discussion topics included cruise tourism, marketing cooperation, direct flights, and cultural exchange programs between the two port cities. Kaohsiung and Busan have been sister cities since 1966.
Officials also met representatives from the Korea Tourism Organization, major travel agencies, Eastar Jet, Agoda, Mastercard, and others to discuss charter flights, travel promotions, and winter tourism demand from South Korea. According to Taiwan’s Tourism Administration, South Korea is Taiwan’s third-largest inbound market, and overnight stays by Korean travelers in Kaohsiung grew more than 40 percent last year.
For more information, visit the Kaohsiung Travel website and its social media channels.
