Korea is taking things up market and looking to attract longer-stay, premium travellers from Canada.
Historically, Youna Oh, Director, Toronto Office of the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), said that for tour operators, Korea has been a stopover destination, but now “we want to promote Korea as a premium destination.”
The opportunity is there for the KTO’s efforts to succeed, with Oh pointing out that in 2024, Korea welcomed 254,000 Canadians and it’s forecasting that the country’s Canadian visitor arrival numbers will grow to 270,000 in 2025.
And while the numbers are strong and Canada is clearly a growing market for Korea, the KTO’s Deputy Director, Seon Hui Yi make it clear that there is still work to do and the KTO “will be working hard to help Canadians to get to know Korea better.”
That hard work was certainly on display during the KTO’s recent Discover Luxury in Korea event at the Omni King Edward Hotel in Toronto in late October (Oct. 22).
About 80 travel trade types were on hand for the event, many of them tour operators that the KTO was already working with or that they’d potentially be working with going forward.
Hillary Nguyen, Marketing Manager for the Toronto Office of the KTO, offered those on hand insights into Luxury Stays in Korea; the country’s Art & Culture; its culinary scene; Beauty and Wellness options available; and the support programs the KTO has in place for the industry.
In terms of those support programs, Nguyen explained that the KTO can provide complimentary special experiences to Corporate & Incentive Travel groups; Special Interest Travel Groups; and Industry Site Visit groups.
Korean Air’s Heather Ro was also on hand at the presentation, telling the audience that Korea offers culture, food, shopping and so much more to discover and making it clear that Korean Air was the perfect way to get there – offering flights from both Toronto and Vancouver to the destination.
All in all, the KTO certainly made its point during the Toronto event, with Oh observing that Korea offers visitors so many different experiences and so many surprises.
For more on Korea, go to https://english.visitkorea.or.kr/svc/br/canada or [email protected]
In the photo
Seen here, from l to r, are the Korea Tourism Organization’s Youna Oh and Seon Hui Yi at the Discover Luxury in Korea event in Toronto on Oct. 22, 2025.
