SEOUL, 17 August 2014 –Ambassador Raul S. Hernandez said Korea Tourism Organization’s (KTO) recent launch of its new tourism brand “Imagine your Korea” will further enhance people-to-people relations between the Philippines and Korea.

At the brand launching at the Hanging Floating Island on Seoul’s Han River in Seocho-guon 22 July 2014, which he attended together with Department of Tourism (DOT) Korea Director Maricon Ebron and the ambassadors of France and Indonesia, Ambassador Hernandez said Korea’s new slogan would definitely draw more Filipino tourists to Korea.

He described how the Philippines’ own rebranding in January 2012 – “It’s more fun in the Philippines” – tapped into the imagination of Filipino netizens, known to be some of the most active in the world,and transformed them into brand ambassadors for the country, injecting resiliency into increases in visitor arrivals even in the face of debilitating natural catastrophes.

In his speech at launching the winning slogan from 9,000 entries in a contest held by KTO and Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST), KTO President Choo Suk Byun said last year’s total of over 12 million foreign visitors“served as an opportunity for Korea to make a new leap to become an advanced tourism country, in name and in reality.”

“The nature of tourism in Korea has changed. With the launching of the new brand, we can reinforce the global awareness that Korea is a creative country filled with the latest trends and sophisticated culture, thereby contributing to the opening of an era that welcomes 20 million foreign tourists,” he added.

Tourism is one of the biggest success stories in the longstanding relations between the Philippines and Korea, which is now on its 65th year, according to DOT Korea Director Ebron.

According to official data, 12,175,550visitors entered Korea last year, up 9.3 percent from 2012. Of the 2013 total, there were 400,686 Filipinos, an increase of a whopping 20.9 percent from the previous year, making the Philippines, with an overall share of 3.3 percent, Korea’s fourth top market in Asia and fifth globally, after China, Japan, U.S. and Taiwan.

Koreans are known to be active travellers, 14,846,485 of whom travelled overseas last year. The Philippines was one of only five countries – with China, Japan, Thailand and Hong Kong – that register over 1 million Korean visitors annually, with 1,165,789 Koreans arriving in 2013, a figure that represents a quarter of the country’s total arrivals of 4,681,307 in 2013.