RI to join Korean expo

JAKARTA (JP): The government is to send a delegation to South Korea to promote Indonesia's tourism industry at the Kangwon International Tourism Expo, governor of South Korea's Kangwon province Kim Jun Sun said here on Monday.

Kim said the expo, which would be held in Kangwon province for 50 days starting from Sept. 10, was expected to draw three million visitors and governmental delegations from 50 countries across the world.

The South Korean government has invested US$40 million to build facilities for the expo, Kim said.

"We have prepared for the expo for three years," he said.

Kangwon, in the north of the country, is known as South Korea's main tourist area.

Kim said South Korea received 300,000 visitors each year from the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries, Japan and China. There was no figure on the number of Indonesian visitors.

Local tour operators say South Korea is not a popular destination for Indonesian tourists because of few campaigns to promote the country. (jsk)