Countdown to Pyeongchang 2018 begins in Toronto

With the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang now less than a year away, Korea Tourism Organization hosted an event in Toronto last night to showcase the competition and promote the country as a tourist destination for Canadian travellers.

Representatives from the Pyeongchang Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games and the Korean Consulate in Toronto were present, in addition to airline partners and other key figures associated with the Games – including its two official mascots, Soohorang and Bandabi.

With an anticipated one billion viewers, Sheonhee Kim, head, key client team of the Organizing Committee for the Games, said that she hoped they would show South Korea as a vibrant and appealing tourist destination. The theme of the Games, ‘New Horizons,’ aims to connect athletes and spectators alike with the competition and the country, leaving a legacy in the host region by transforming it into a winter sports hub and a tourist hotspot.

Kim confirmed that venues and infrastructure for the Games are on track and progressing well, while construction of railways and transportation networks is also on schedule; she anticipated that the region’s high-speed railway would be completed by summer this year.

Each of the competition venues are located within 30 minutes’ travel distance from each other, making it the most compact layout in the history of the Games.

Oki Kang, executive vice president of International Tourist Promotion Division, Korea National Tourist Organization, told PAX that particular emphasis was being placed on attracting interest from Western countries – with Canada featuring prominently.

“Canada is probably our second or third market in western countries in terms of the tourist market to Korea,” she said. “I think the Winter Olympics will help the strong connection between the two countries, because Canada is quite a strong winter sports country. We want to capitalize on that.”

She also said that she hoped the Games would encourage tourists to experience parts of South Korea outside the country’s most popular destination, Seoul.

“Even though the Pyeongchang area has many great tourist attractions, it’s a less-visited area,” she said. “I hope that more Canadians will now come to Korea and enjoy the Pyeongchang area as well – not only Seoul.”

Despite the NHL’s announcement yesterday that it will not participate in next year’s Games, interest in Pyeongchang 2018 remains high, with 1.57 million tickets to be issued.

Jeong-Sik Kang, consul general, consulate general of the Republic of Korea in Toronto, said that they were honoured to be hosting the games, and that he hoped the winter Olympics would bring the people of South Korea and Canada closer.