- The 2024 Tourism Job Fair runs until Sept. 13 with over 130 participating tourism companies

- The Fair offers a variety of programs, including information on jobs in tourism, special lectures by “Song Bao” and other well-known figures

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Minister YU In Chon, MCST), in collaboration with the Korea Tourism Organization (Acting President SEO Young Chung), the Korea Hotel Association, the Visit Korea Committee, and other tourism-related organizations and institutions will run the 2024 Tourism Job Fair both online and on-site until September 13. The online sessions of the Fair is held  at its official website (www.tourjobfair.com) from August 19 to September 13, while the offline sessions of the Fair will take place at the aT Center in Seoul on September 10 and 11.

In 2024, the tourism industry is experiencing its best year post-COVID-19. As of the end of June, approximately 7.7 million international tourists have visited Korea, representing a 91.3% recovery[1]  from the same period in 2019, the last year before the COVID-19 pandemic. As of 2023, the number of annual domestic trips by Koreans also increased by 4.7% year-on-year to 296.977 million. As travel demand increases, the demand for tourism workers is also growing, making the influx of new workers and job connections an important policy issue.

Under the theme of “Open Tourism, Open My Job,” the 2024 Tourism Job Fair, now in its 11th year, will encourage job seekers to find a job in the tourism industry and connect them with tourism companies. In line with the recent advancement of the platform business and diversification of travel trends, the Fair will promote a wider range of jobs in the tourism sector while holding a variety of events to attract people looking for work in tourism.

Over 130 companies from the tourism, platform and theme park sectors will participate Entertainment companies will take part for the first time with the spread of Hallyu

More than 130 companies will participate in the Fair, including travel agencies, hotels and resorts, MICE companies, tourism startups and platforms, and theme parks. Entertainment companies such as CJ ENM and SM C&C will be newcomers, reflecting the recent trend of increasing international tourist arrivals to Korea[2] with the spread of K-pop and K-dramas. Companies in the convergence tourism sector will also attend the Fair to showcase the scalability of the tourism industry and introduce new tourism jobs.

Connecting job seekers with tourism jobs, through job postings, job interviews, and career counseling

The online fair, which opened on August 19, provides basic information on the hiring trends in the tourism sector, including information on job duties and types of employment, as well as on topics that young job seekers (the “MZ Generation”) are eager to learn about, such as welfare benefits. Job seekers can pre-register their resumes to schedule online and offline interviews, and employers can offer interviews and recruitment counseling to interested job seekers based on pre-registered resumes. Interviews will be conducted in person or via video at the on-site fair (Sept. 10 – 11).

At the on-site fair, special lectures will be given by “The Man Who Leaves Again” (a travel content creator), “Song Bao” (Everland Zookeeper SONG Young Kwan), and “2024 Buddhist Expo Planner” (Mind Design CEO KIM Min Ji), while tourism professionals such as travel program planners (MDs), Hallyu program planners, and online travel agency (OTA) marketers,[3] will give talk concerts to introduce the K-Tourism scene. There will also be fun contests, such as the “Tourism Industry Job Creation Idea Contest,” the “Tourism Interpretation Contest,” and the “Student Casino Dealing Contest” for those interested in the tourism industry. Participants who wish to obtain a certification as a tourist interpreter, overseas tour guide, convention planner or other such jobs in tourism, can access useful information at the respective certification guide center.

The Fair will also provide particular support for the middle-aged and women with work experience, people with disabilities, and foreign students with finding a job in the tourism sector. It plans to actively connect various types of job seekers with tourism jobs through the “Restart Zone” for the middle-aged and women with work experience, recruitment centers for people with disabilities operated by the Korea Disabled People’s Development Institute, and visa counselors for international students.

“People are the core resource of the tourism industry and an important factor that determines the competitiveness of the Korean tourism industry. We hope that this fair will be a place where tourism companies can find talented workers, and job seekers can find satisfactory jobs,” said KIM Geun Ho, head of the Tourism Industry Policy Bureau of the MCST.