Shopping Tourism with Korea Sale Festa 2016

The Hallyu, shopping and tourism combined Korea Grand Sale is going to be hosted for a month, from the 1st of October to the 31st of October all around Korea. This festival offers a variety of benefits and offers for foreigners from shopping, flight/transportation, accommodations, beauty/health, food and beverage, show performance, culture, tourist attractions and more. A number of various festivals and cultural events such as K-POP concert, are also not to be missed.

This year, under the big title of ‘Korea Sale FESTA’, there lies ‘Korea Grand Sale (10.1~31)’  for foreigners,  and a mega shopping  discount  festival  ‘Hot Sale Week (9.29~10.9)’   being  organized  together,  as  well  as  ‘K-Culture  Fair  (10.1~31)’ introducing  diverse  Hallyu  culture  festivals  from  all-around  regions  in  Korea. Through  such  systematic  integration,  we are expecting  a synergy  effect  for the potential to develop the festival into a premium international  Hallyu, shopping and tourism combined festival, all adding up towards making the image of Korea as an attractive shopping destination.

Especially  since 2011, Korea Grand Sale for foreigners  was promoted  to attract foreign tourists to Korea  in order  to overcome  low-season  in tourism.  Starting  from this year,  the hosting  period  is confirmed to take place during October and February every year, to get rid of the confusion between the participating  companies  and foreigners.  Analyzing  the past  5 years  of Korea  Grand  Sale,  the outcome was over 1.1 trillion won in production inducement and employment effect of 15,000 people. Also,  the  number  of  foreign  visitors  to  Korea  during  every  January~February,   have  increased averagely by 15%, the amount of consumer spending by 12% in the years from 2011 to 2015 when Korea Grand Sale was being held. Sales from foreigners have also improved from the participating organizations,  adding up to total of 650 billion won during the five years, and the sales amount by foreigners  during the second half of last year have increased  about 29 times compared  to the first year’s sales amount from foreigners. The number of participating stores have also increased to approximately 35,000, about 2.5 times growth compared to the first year’s 14,000 stores.

First, during  October  when the Korea  Grand Sale is being held, various  benefits  like 1+1 events, discount   and   free   gifts   are   available   from   shopping,   flight/transportation,    accommodations, beauty/health, show performance, tourist attractions, food and beverage and other areas. For instance, Asiana Airlines provide 1+1 event for 2 or more people booking flight tickets on 24 routes in China, 10 routes in Japan, and up to 60% discount on flight tickets to South East Asia and Europe routes. Hyundai I’ Park mall provides up to 50% discount, Shinsegae Department Store also provides up to 30% discount, and Lotte Duty Free offers various discount benefits by the amount of purchase. Innisfree offers 20% discount when paying by foreign credit cards, Grand Hilton Seoul offers 50% discount when  staying  for  2  nights  or  more  in  deluxe  rooms.  K-live  offers  50%  discount  on  tickets  for hologram concerts of K-POP stars. Last but not least, up to 50% discount is available on K-Travel Bus, a 1 night 2 days bus tour package that travels around the popular regional tourist attractions of Korea at reasonable prices during the Korea Grand Sale period.

Secondly,  there  will  be  a  number  of  experience  and  participation  events  for  the  foreign  tourists visiting Korea. Starting from the K-POP opening ceremony concert on the 30th of September (Fri.) at Yeongdongdaero in Gangnam, two more Hallyu concerts will be held on the 14th of October(Fri.) and the 15th of October(Sat.)  at the square  in front  of Yongsan  station  in Yongsan-gu  and COEX  in Gangnam-gu  respectively.  Furthermore,  there  will  be  an  opportunity  for  Hallyu  fans  to  enjoy  a shopping tourism date with a Hallyu star. On the 1st of October (Sat.), a welcoming event will take place at Incheon International Airport and Gimpo International Airport for tourists visiting Korea. In addition,  various  experience  events  will  be available  from  the participating  companies  during  the Special Theme Week, consisting of Must-Buy Week (10.1~9), Must-See Week (10.10~16), Must-Do Week (10.17~23) and Must-Eat Week (10.24~31). Free gift events for foreigners visiting the Korea Grand  Sale  event  center  will  also  be  available  separately,  where  participation  can  be  made  with purchase receipts of total amount over 100,000 won from any participating stores and/or organizations.

Thirdly, we recommend cultural festivals and tour courses where you can build wonderful memories. The Korea Grand Sale’s homepage provides information  about various Hallyu cultural festivals and related tour courses across the country in different languages. Some of many festivals include Busan One  Asia  Festival  (10.1~23),  Gwangju  Biennale  (9.2~11.6),  Jarasum  International  Jazz  Festival (10.1~3), Korea Drama Festival (10.1~6) and more. Moreover, by cooperating with airlines and travel agencies, tour package development  and promotion marketing for foreigners will also be conducted actively.

Lastly, there will be various convenient services available for foreign tourists. Such services as interpretation service (Chinese, English and Japanese), festival information, free Internet/WiFi service and free gifts and more will be offered from the event center at Doota Square in Dongdaemun during the entire festival period. Foreign language interpretation and tourism information service will also be available from the Tourist Service Center, a remodelled 3.5 ton truck, which will travel across Myeongdong, Hongdae, Yongsan, Gangnam and other regions. Up to 50% discount will be offered on Hands Free Service, a luggage delivery and storage service at department stores, hotels, airports and other major sites in Seoul. In addition, K-Tour Card which adds convenience  in transportation  and benefits  in  tourism,  will  be  released  from  late  September,  and  promotional  activities  for  foreign tourists and transferring tourists will be implemented.

More information  about Korea Grand Sale is available  in Chinese,  English  and Japanese  from the Korea Grand Sale’s homepage,  and continuous  festival updates and information  are being uploaded through   various   SNS   channels   including   Facebook,   Weibo,   Instagram   and   Line.   Overseas promotional  marketing is also being conducted actively. Promotional  materials such as promotional Hallyu star videos and leaflets are to be spread via overseas networks held by the participating organizations, Visit Korea Committee, and other related organizations. In addition, Korea Grand Sale will be introduced to foreign countries by participating in foreign tourism exhibitions, fairs and expos along  with other  participating  organizations,  starting  with Singapore  ‘Travel  Revolution(8.19~21)’, Malaysia ‘MATTA Fair(9.2~4)’, Japan ‘Tourism Expo(9.22~25)’ and ‘Korea Japan Festival(9.24~25)’. In Hong Kong, trams, which are Hong Kong’s representative  public transportation,  will be used for outdoor advertising with exterior wrapping material for 4 weeks from the 12th of September to the 9th of October. In Korea, banners for the streets and street lights will be used in Korea’s popular tourist attractions.

This year’s Korea Grand Sale is being planned out to build the most diverse and enjoyable  atmosphere  by combining  a wide range of benefits  in a wide range of areas for the foreign tourists visiting Korea, with Hallyu and a lot of regional culture festivals.  A  Shopping  Tourism  Festival  you  should  never  miss  in  Korea  during October, ‘Korea Grand Sale’ is coming soon.

[For inquiry] Marketing department, Hyun Jun Kim (hjk@vkc.or.kr / 02-6272-7305)