Anchor: The 40th Seoul International Travel Fair is underway at the COEX convention center. Over 500 tourist attractions at home and abroad are being introduced in the event, from those that are as close as South Korea's coastal city of Incheon and to those as far away as the Greek island of Santorini. KBS World Radio checked out the event. 
David Lee has more. 

Report: On one side are booths from international entries such as Sri Lanka, Peru and Croatia, while the other side is represented by South Korean cities and regions. 

The South Korean port city of Incheon is stressing that it is more than just an airport city. 

[Sound bite: Hani Han - Marketing Manager, Incheon Tourism Organization]
“Many people know Incheon only for the airport because the Incheon International Airport, everyone knows about it. But there are besides the airport, there are other good places for example like the islands that I talked about. We have Songdo area, which is a new city and, also, Dangsa Island which has the DMZ... Incheon has the biggest Chinatown in Korea, because Incheon has ports and in 1883,... "

The Greek island of Santorini is one of some 500 tourist attractions featured at this year's event. 

[Sound bite: Georgia Nomikou - President, City Council of Santorini]
“Our purpose is to strengthen the Korean market in Santorini. We know that Santorini is very recognizable in Korea, and what you perhaps don’t know is that the Korean travelers are very loved by the Santorini locals... In every island and in every city in Greece, you can find things that are very popular, but you can also find hidden corners that you can explore authentic things. I would definitely suggest the volcano, and I would also suggest experiences like wine tasting and cooking classes.”

Marking its 40th year, Seoul International Travel Fair is seeking to become a market place for mutual networking among tourism businesses at home and abroad. 

Noor Ahmad Hami, the CEO of Pacific-Asia Travel Association, came back to the fair this year as his organization is one of the main supporters of the event. 

[Sound bite: Noor Ahmad Hami - CEO, Pacific-Asia Travel Association]
“Today the event is one of the most recognized in the Asia-Pacific region. So, I think the celebration of the 40th anniversary this year really showed that Korea is a tourism powerhouse. The growth of tourism in the Asia-Pacific is definitely inevitable… By 2027, in fact, the number of international visitors in the Asia-Pacific region will be almost 987 million. Hopefully, by 2028, it will be more than a billion arriving in the region.”

Harry Hwang, the director of the Pacific-Asia region at UN Tourism, also made a return to the fair.

[Sound bite: Harry Hwang - Dir. Pacific-Asia, UN Tourism]
“Considering for being an island, receiving 17 million visitors before the pandemic, that was absolutely big, big achievement….The best Christmas gift for youngsters is a flight ticket to Korea. So, what I’m saying is that now the K-culture is not only enjoying the movie and K-pop in their own country. No. They want to come; they must come to Korea.”

Running through Sunday at the COEX convention center in Seoul, the travel fair serves as a platform for travel enthusiasts to keep up to date on the latest trends.
David Lee, Reporting for KBS World Radio News.