TWO fiercely-competing NTOs, Japan and South Korea, have joined hands to offer a single vacation combining the two destinations.
The initiative, believed to be the first ever between the Japan National Tourist Organization (JNTO) and Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), was driven by their directors in the Singapore office.
Together, they have roped in four carriers and 13 local travel agencies to twin the destinations in time for the NATAS Travel Fair from February 22-24.
At least 4,000 passengers are expected to buy the packages, according to JNTO’s executive director Singapore, Motonari Adachi.
“Our aim is more to create the awareness of the short and convenient flight connections between (South) Korea and Japan and offer travellers a wide variety of choices to travel to other cities in both South Korea and Japan,” he said.
“The flight duration between (South) Korea and Japan is around two hours (Incheon to Tokyo) and two hours, 35 minutes (Incheon to Hokkaido),” KTO director Singapore, Steve Yong, pointed out.
The move comes as Japan recovers from the 3/11 tsunami while South Korea’s Gangnam-style rocks. Singapore arrivals to South Korea last year were around 152,000, almost 10,000 more than Singapore arrivals to Japan.
According to JNTO Singapore manager, Susan Ong, a minimum stay of three nights in each country was set, but most of the packages that have been sewn are eight- to 10-day tours. Some agencies are offering experiences such as how to make kimchi and sushi.
Prices are also attractive. “Generally, tour packages to Japan or (South) Korea alone start from about S$2,000 (US$1,615). But for the joint campaign, travellers can visit two destinations in one go at almost the same price,” said Ong.
“(South) Korea and Japan have been the five top-selling destinations at every NATAS fair. We believe this trend will continue. We hope the initiative will motivate agencies to focus more on developing new tours combining these two popular North Asian destinations,” she added.
The partnership between the two NTOs, dubbed the ‘Kimchi and Sushi Project, was two years in the making. It was stalled by the 3/11 tsunami and political issues between North and South Korea in early 2012.
