The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) is an organization of the
Republic of Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its ea ...
(South Korea) under the
Ministry of Culture and Tourism. It is commissioned to promote
the country's tourism industry.
The KTO was established in 1962 as a government-invested corporation responsible for the South Korean tourism industry according to the International Tourism Corporation Act. The organization promotes Korea as a tourist destination to attract foreign tourists. Starting in the 1980s, domestic tourism promotion also became a function of the KTO.
Inbound visitors totaled over 6 million in 2006 and the tourism industry is said to be one of the factors that has some influence on the Korean economy.
History
*1961: The Tourism Promotion Law is enacted.
*1962: The International Tourism Corporation (ITC) is established to promote South Korea’s tourism industry through the management of major hotels, taxis and the Korea Travel Bureau, as well as by training human resources to support the travel trade.
*1968: The number of foreign visitors passes 100,000.
*1969: The Hotel Institute is opened. The first overseas office opens in Tokyo.
*1971: Development of Bomun Lake Resort in
Gyeongju begins.
*1977: London office opens in the UK.
*1978: Korea attracts over one million foreign visitors.
*1982: The International Tourism Corporation is renamed the Korea National Tourism Corporation (KNTC).
*1988: The number of foreign visitors surpasses two million.
*1991: The number of foreign visitors passes three million.
*1996: The company’s name is changed from Korea National Tourism Corporation to Korea National Tourism Organization.
*1998:
Kumgangsan
Mount Kumgang () or the Kumgang Mountains is a mountain massif, with a peak, in Kangwon-do, North Korea. It is located on the east coast of the country, in Mount Kumgang Tourist Region, formerly part of Kangwŏn Province, and is part of ...
Diamond Mountains tour begins.
*2000: Korea attracts five million foreign visitors.
*2003: Kumgangsan Diamond Mountains land route tour begins.
Hallyu (Korea Wave) becomes the major theme of the KTO's overseas marketing.
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
branch offices issue
newsletter bulletins; offices are in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
and
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
.
*2005: KTO reshuffles its organizational structure into six divisions. KTO introduces its new corporate identity. Korea attracts 6.5 million visitors from abroad.
See also
*
Seoul Tourism Organization
References
External links
VisitKorea (KTO) homepage
{{authority control
Tourism in South Korea
Government agencies of South Korea
1962 establishments in South Korea
Tourism agencies
Government agencies established in 1962