The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Minister YU In Chon, MCST) plans to elevate global awareness of Korea’s global festival as the country’s flagship tourism product and engage in all-out efforts to discover local cruise-related tourism products. To promote the Incheon Pentaport Music Festival, the first of the “global festivals” scheduled this August, the Ministry hosted a promotional event at the Incheon Port Cruise Terminal on May 7. Domestic and overseas promotions were organized to promote the appeal of Korea’s representative global festivals, including showcases.

Last March, the MCST announced an open call for proposals to identify and foster promising culture and tourism festivals[1] as Korea’s flagship tourism products for international visitors and selected the Incheon Pentaport Music Festival, the Suwon Hwaseong Cultural Festival, and the Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival as global festivals. From 2024 to 2026, the Ministry plans to provide intensive support to increase the number of international tourists visiting the global festivals by more than 100% and elevate the international status of these festivals. In particular, the Ministry will engage in active promotional and marketing activities to attract international tourists, including various promotional events and overseas promotional showcases aligned with the characteristics of each festival.

The Ministry holds global festival promotion events for around 4,000 cruise tourists entering Incheon on May 7, and helps tourists visit traditional markets

The Ministry will commence the PR campaign with the Incheon Pentaport Music Festival scheduled this August, which is the earliest of the global festivals. On May 7, a welcome event was held for approximately 4,000 passengers arriving at Incheon Port Cruise Terminal on Spectrum of the Seas, a 170,000-ton ultra-large cruise ship operated by Royal Caribbean (United States). The Ministry promotes not only this year’s festival but also the ones scheduled for next year, which will celebrate its 20th anniversary, to encourage tourists to revisit Korea. Moreover, the Ministry provides visitors with opportunities to visit the Incheon Sinpo International Market, which was selected as one of the MCST’s “Top 10 K-Tourism Markets,” and gift certificates to use in the market to create a positive impression about Korea and promote local tourism.

The MCST will collaborate with the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to increase cruise tourists through unique local tourism-related content

The MCST planned this event in conjunction with the collaboration project with the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Expansion of Domestic and International Tourist Attraction through Revitalization of Cruise Tourism. Capitalizing on the strategic personnel exchange with the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, the MCST plans to jointly increase cruise ship arrivals in Korea, increase the stay time of cruise tourists around the five major ports of call in the country (Busan, Incheon, Jeju, Yeosu, and Sokcho), and revitalize tourism in the surrounding areas. The Ministry will also implement various projects to enable cruise tourists to experience the unique offerings in Korea’s regions, such as festivals, traditional markets, and temple stays near ports of call outside of Seoul.

SEO Min Jeong, Director of the Domestic Tourism Promotion Division at the MCST, said, “We will actively identify and promote tourism products featuring unique appeals of different regions in Korea and provide active support to attract more cruise tourists. We aim to increase arrivals of not only domestic cruises but also international cruises that use Korea as their home port (Fly&Cruise, etc.).”