S. Korea`s tourism chief to visit Japan for promotional activities

By Lee Youkyung
SEOUL, Sept. 17 (Yonhap) -- The head of South Korea's tourism board is to visit
Japan this week as part of efforts to attract more travelers from the neighboring
country, the tourism promotion organization said Thursday.
Lee Charm, who took over as head of the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) in
August, is to visit Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya from Friday to meet tourism officials
there during his first official visit as head of the state-run body.
During his three-day stay, Lee is expected to attend a global tourism fair and
conduct interviews with local media to promote South Korea's tourist attractions
and culture.
One of South Korea's largest tourism partners, the number of tourists from Japan
fell sharply in June in the wake of the worldwide Influenza A scare. Numbers
began to rebound in July and August, rising more than 27 percent each month.
A native of Germany, Lee's appointment placed him in the limelight as the first
naturalized Korean to lead a public organization.
ylee@yna.co.kr
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