The Korea Tourism Organization in Vietnam (KTO) Vietnam has awarded the Korea Travel Awards to travel agents that have best promoted South Korean tourism in Hanoi.

The Korea Incentive Travel Awards 2023 includes three categories: Incentive Diamond Partner, Incentive Gold Partner, and Incentive Silver Partner - based on the statistical performance of agents and individuals in sending tourists to the East Asian country in 2023.

KTO Vietnam Director Lee Jae Hoon speaks at the award ceremony. Photo: KTO

Accordingly, Vietravel Hanoi was honored with the Most Strategic Partner award. Flamingo Redtours and Vietrantour won the Most Impressive Partner awards for many new and special diverse products such as high-end tours, Korean cultural wave (Hallyu) experience, exploration of Korean sites, and impressive achievements in customer acquisition.

Top Travel and Hanoi Tourism were recognized as the Most Creative Partner for their great contributions in building and developing unique and new Korean tourism products, and for developing products at the local airports in South Korea to attract the attention of Vietnamese tourists.

In the Most Potential Partner category, Hanoitourist and Hanoi Skytour were awarded for their positive contributions and great potential for future development.

Let's Feast Vietnam: Visit Busan won the Program of the Year award. It's an amazing journey filmed in South Korea with the participation of Miss Grand International 2021 Thuy Tien, streamer Misthy, chef Hoshi Phan, and food blogger Dino Vu with unique content and impressive tourism promotion impact.

Lee Jae Hoon, Director of KTO Vietnam, said that Korea Tourism Night is a meaningful opportunity for KTO Vietnam and its partners to recap the past year.

"I hope that KTO can continue to receive support and accompaniment from our valued partners so that Korean tourism can quickly recover to pre-Covid-19 levels. Vietnam will always be the leading market for Korean tourism in Southeast Asia. The two countries are developing together not only in tourism but also in culture, economy, and politics," he said.

The number of Vietnamese tourists coming to South Korea in the first 11 months of this year reached 386,921, up 139.7% on-year. 

Taekwondo performance at Korea Tourism Night. Photo: KTO

Korean MICE tourism has also seen many outstanding achievements in Vietnam. By the end of November this year, 38,435 MICE tourists were traveling to Korea, an increase of 228% over the same period last year. As a result, Vietnam is South Korea's leading source market in Southeast Asia in terms of the number of tourists in general and MICE tourists in particular coming to Korea.

"Next year, along with Visit Korea Year, we plan to focus on promoting the top 100 most attractive Korean tourist destinations and launch the K-Tourism Roadshow events to showcase South Korea's appeal in major cities around the world, including Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City," Lee said.