Seoul city is one of the major cities in South Korea (the Republic of Korea). It is the capital city of the country and a major tourism attraction center for many tourists worldwide. Tourism in South Korea in the past was not considered an important activity. This was as a result of the economic difficulties, government restrictions and Koreans war that made it hard for people to move to new places. Most people were allowed to move overseas on government business and technical training, thus tourism was mainly carried out locally. In around 1980s, traveling abroad begun to be free in the country which marked a major foreign tourism into the country.
According to the Korea tourism organization (2013), both domestic and international tourism contributed to about krw26.7 trillion to the country and supports about 607500 jobs which make tourism very important in Korea (hunter, 2016, p.224). Tourism sector plays a critical role in development of many nations’ economy. Many countries have used all the efforts available to ensure to tourism sector in the country is well marketed. Tourism is associated with various benefits which helps the country to balance terms of trade due to foreign income gained. This essay will critically analyze the overview of tourism in Seoul city, factors that have contributed to tourism development in the city, major roles played by tourism and the evidence of sustainable tourism in the country.
Tourism development in Seoul city is attributable to the major fascinating sites in the city since ancient times such as the Korean popular culture “Korean wave”, the gyeongbokgung which is the main palace of the Koreas last royal dynasty –the Joseon dynasty. Such features have enabled many tourists from all over the world to visit the city. The heunginjimun gate which is known as the east gate is located in the center of Korea fashion and is believed that if someone dresses nicely for the gate they will get good luck, thus it has been a center of tourists’ destination in the city (shim, and santos, 2014, p.111). Every individual in this word needs good luck. South Korea has since hosted many events such as the 1988 summer Olympics, 1993 Taejon expo, 2002 FIFA world cup jointly with Japan and 2005 APEC conference.
Seoul city is located in a continent that boasts of large population in the world. Many visitors visit the continent and Seoul being one of the most popular cities benefits as most diplomatic conferences and meetings are hosted in the city. This has made Seoul city one of the best tourist attraction sites in the world. Seoul city has developed facilities which has helped in promoting tourism in the city. Unlike other cities in the world, Seoul city enjoys availability of natural tourism attraction sites and this has helped the city to compete favorably with other cities in the world.
The world cup marketed Seoul city and South Korea as a major tourist attraction destination to the world. Seoul city can best be explained by the butler’s model of tourism. In reference to the theory, the center started with a small number of tourists, local residents of South Korea become involved in the tourism sector serving as local tourists early before the country could open its activities internationally (shim, and santos, 2014, p.111). The extensive development in the transport sector and today it has become a major tourist attraction in the world. Seoul city is a tourist destination region (TDR) in the whole tourism system model (WAS).
This is evidenced by the major tourist attraction centers in the city which includes the namsan Seoul tower, the Seoul city wall and best restaurant for the tourists. Climate is one of the major factors that have put Seoul city in the eyes of many tourists (Weaver, and lawton, 2013, p.172). The wet and very humid climate during summer season, cold and dry weather of winters and the pleasant spring and autumn makes the city a major tourist attraction. People who do not have the opportunity of having such good weather conditions frequent the city for leisure purposes.
There various factors which helped to improve tourism activities in Seoul city. They include; the city’s economy serves as the whole Asian culture and being the capital of South Korea, attract major business. As the capital city of South Korea, the city hosts various diplomats and diplomatic conferences and meetings (lee, and bai, 2016, p.164). Such conferences and meetings attract the high number of people visiting the city. After the conferences, the diplomats will be given a tour of various tourists’ attraction sites and the status of being the capital city of South Korea has also played a critical role in promoting tourism in the city.
It is a major business hub comprising of headquarters of major technology companies in the world such as Samsung and LG. This attracts more visitors to the city. Business people frequent the city so as to purchase goodies for their businesses at cheap prices (chiu, et al. 2016, p.226). Such a company attracts many tourists as people come to see the giant companies which have dominated the world in terms of electronics products. The city also attracts many people who come for job opportunities in the existing multinational corporations in the city.
There are many financial institutions in the city such as the standard chartered bank, Citigroup and the exchange bank of Korea (gretzel, et al. 2015, p.182). This offers an ideal environment for foreigners to visit and invest. Financial institutions enable easy payments of goods and services. The financial institutions have a worldwide presence and due to customer loyalty, many people visit the city so as to carry out various transactions. Financial institutions enable easy conversion of one currency to different currencies and this helps in business transactions (moon, et al. 2013, p. 57). International financial institutions located in the city also provide credit facilities to tourists in case of emergencies, this helps tourists to have access to credit services which will enable them to pay for different services in the city.
Seoul city cuisines have also helped the city to attract tourists from all over the world. Food lovers from around the world have a chance to enjoy a variety of unique dishes. The city is the homes of hundreds of restaurants which are committed to ensure that tourists enjoy different delicacies (Lee, et al.2014, p.84). The delicacies include cold noodles (naengmyun) and Korean barbecue (gogi-gui). Food tourism in Seoul city is well because of numerous which compete to provide best dishes to customers and this has led to innovations in delicacies.
The Korean wave, a Korean culture has of recent been popular, attracting many people into the city. This involves exporting South Korean pop culture to the world. Social media and k-pop music videos which can be accessed through YouTube has played a critical role in dispersing the culture (lim, and bendle, 2012, p 675). This forces people from around the world to visit South Korea and Seoul city will not be left behind. The wave has created the needed publicity for the Seoul city and people who did not know it existed ends up visiting so as to experience the rich culture which is portrayed on different videos.
Tourism has played a major role in Seoul city. According to Korea health industry development institution 2017, tourism has positively impacted major the medical field through the provision of high levels of medical expertise in the city, the country and worldwide (weaver, and lawton, 2013, p.171). This attracts many foreigners to the city for medical knowledge and information acquisition in all areas (Ritchie, et al.2009, p.155). Qualified doctors have settled in the city as a result of fascinating tourists attraction sites and this has enabled the city to boast of hospitals which have made various advancement in the health sector.
Tourism has helped create more jobs for the locals in the city. Many people have been employed in the tourism sector and other related sectors in the city thus boosting the GDP of the country. Through tourism, the economy of the city and country at large has increased to high levels. Tourism has also helped in the provision of labor to most companies in the city (Cho, and Bairner, 2012, p.276). This is because some people visit the city and secure employment opportunities. This enables the firms to have the needed labor for carrying out its operations.
Tourism has also enabled many investors to invest in various businesses in Seoul city. This has led to the emergence of multinational corporations in the city which has helped the city to attract more tourists. The businesses provide job opportunities to many people and this has led to improved welfare in Seoul city and South Korean at large (Young, 2012, p.6). This has helped South Korea to have improved exports and this has helped in balancing terms of trade. Multinational companies have help in the growth of the economy.
There has been an inflow of foreign currency from countries such as China and Japan and a redistribution of local currency in the country from local tourism. This has helped to improve the terms of trade as tourists bring foreign exchange which is used to pay for various imports in the country (Lee, and Anderson, 2013, p.10). This has enabled South Korea to be considered as one of the fast-growing economies in the world.
Major transports links such as trains and buses have expanded within Seoul city and other cities in South Korea as a result of tourism in the city. There has been witnessed a cross-cultural environment in the city as a result of the city being a destination to many races from all over the world. Tourism has helped Seoul city and Korea as a whole in the reduction of negative perceptions and stereotype that many people would have had about the Koreans, their cultural values and lifestyle (Choi, et al.2013, p.232). This was especially possible when the country hosted the world’s major events together with people from various parts of the world who were given good hospitality while in the country.
Sustainable tourism is a key to any tourism region on the whole. Seoul city has adopted the use of recycling techniques and the use of buses fitted with reduced emissions. This will help to conserve the environment and avoid air pollution from many buses transporting tourists from various tourists’ attraction places in the city (Herstein, and Berger, 2013, p.40). Residents are have been encouraged to use the busses rather than their privately owned vehicles while in the city so it can reduce the demand for fuel and minimization of the carbon emissions into the air. There is the preservation of wetlands such as in upon-up in the city, providing sanctuary for migrating birds and maintaining natural environment, suit for other wildlife.
The government maintains its extensive natural park, protects the mountains around the city and the fragile environments of its islands and the coastal locations so that the tourist attraction scenes are not destroyed. Such actions enable the government to keep tourists sites in good conditions so as to continue attracting tourists from all over the world (Herstein, and Berger, 2013, p.40). The government is also encouraging citizens to conserve their rich culture which has helped the country to attract many tourists. The government has also started documenting and promoting South Korean culture as intangible cultural assets. This move is intended to make sure generations to come will be able to experience the rich culture which attracts tourists from all over the world.
South Korea enjoys advancements in visual media and mass communication and uses the platform to market various tourism destinations in Seoul city so as to attract tourists from all over the world (Lim, and Bendle, 2012, p.675). The government and various organizations have also started using various South Korean artists who enjoy huge social media following the role of ambassadors so as to market tourist attraction sites to the rest of the world. Such actions will enable Seoul city to sustain its tourist attraction status. Social media has played critical role in placing the city in the world. This will ensure that the city will continue to continue attracting tourists from all over the world.
The government has also been financing cultural festivals in the city so that various people in the country can showcase their cultural aspects. The government is also financing groups to attend international cultural festivals so as to promote the culture to the outside world (Hunter, 2012, p.429). This plays a critical role in ensuring that the nation conserves its culture which has been a tourist attraction in Seoul city for years.
In conclusion, tourism development in Seoul city has taken a long period before the city to become a major tourist destination in the world. It is evident that its ideal environmental, physical and social factors have played a major role in the tourism advancement in the region. There various factors that promote tourism in Seoul city. The factors include availability of financial institutions, capital city status, and economy of Seoul which consists of availability of multinational corporations. The Korean cultural values, Confucian culture and k-pop culture and their medical advanced skills have been of great impact to many people in the world today.
South Korean cuisines has aided the food tourism sector and helped to attract more tourists. Tourism in Seoul city has impacted the country’s economy positively through the creation of jobs and reduced stereotype the world had against the Korean. Tourism sector has developed transport facilities in the system. There has been increase in investment activities in the city and this has helped to improve the welfare of the society. Thus the government should put more efforts on sustainable tourism programs to ensure that the tourist sites in the city are maintained for more visitors and future generations. This include encouraging members of the public to use buses instead of private cars so as to minimize air pollution.
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