Korea Monthly Activity Report Visit California Korea November 2013 Prepared by: AVIAREPS Marketing Garden Korea 1. Market Intelligence / Market Conditions A. Economy The World Bank s (WB) Doing Business 2014: Understanding Regulations for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises report ranked Korea 7 th out of 189 countries. Korea moved up one spot from last year s report ranking (8 out of 185 countries) and has been ranked in the global top 10 for the last 3 years. Korea has maintained its advantage over its competitive neighbors, ranking second among G20 countries after the U.S., and fourth among OECD countries. As of the end of the third quarter of 2013, the USD/KRW exchange rate stood at 1,074.7 won per dollar, 67.3 won (an appreciation of 6.3%) lower than where it stood at the end of the previous quarter (1,142.0 won). The average USD/KRW rate during the quarter also declined by 12.0 won (an appreciation of 1.1%) from 1,122.8 won in Q2 to 1,110.8 won. The Composite Consumer Sentiment Index (CCSI) for October 2013 stood at 106, up 4 points from September. Consumer sentiment on current living standards stood at 91, two points higher than the previous month, while the figure for prospective living standards increased to 99. The expectation for inflation over the next 12 months was calculated at 2.9%. The Index of all industry production in September decreased by 0.8 percent compared to the previous month. When compared with the results of the previous month, Financial & insurance activities and Accommodation & food service activities indices showed gains but that of the Manufacturing and public administration showed decreases. 1
B. Outbound Travel Market According to the Korea Tourism Organization, the number of Korean outbound travelers in October was calculated at 1,239, 143, 7.3% higher than the number of outbound travelers in October 2012. The number of total Korean outbound travelers between January and October was 12,487,958, up 9.1% from the same time period in 2012. C. Competitive Environment Croatia became a well- known destination among Koreans after it was picked as the location for filming one of the hottest cable TV programs, Grandfathers Over Flowers. With its growing popularity among Koreans, the Ministry of Tourism of Slovenia hosted a Tourism Conference inviting 50 travel trade partners and media under the catch phrase of I feel Slovenia to vitalize the tourism industry from Korea. Since Slovenia borders Croatia to the south, the popularity of Croatia also had a positive impact on the number of Korean travelers to Slovenia. The Tourism Conference focused on introducing attractions, transportation systems, itinerary recommendations and travel tips for FITs. Mexico Travel and the Embassy of Mexico hosted the Mexico Caravan event together, extending invitations to various travel trade partners. The goal of the event was to introduce and promote honeymoon and cruise travel to Mexico. Mexico Caravan was held in both Seoul and Busan on November 21 and 22, respectively, under the theme of Special You! Enjoy everything Mexico has to offer! Tourism Thailand and MasterCard launched a co-op consumer campaign called Thailand Shopping Celebration. The campaign targets travelers using their MasterCard while traveling in Thailand, allowing them to use their MasterCard receipts to redeem more than 3,000 gifts, including accommodation vouchers, dining vouchers, electronic appliances, and gadgets. The campaign is scheduled to run until December 31. D. Consumer Trends Since August, more more than three-fourths of South Koreans have sharply reduced their consumption of fish products over safety concerns after highly radioactive water was found to be leaking from a storage tank into the ground at the Fukushima nuclear plant in northeastern Japan. 2
According to an online poll of 661 people conducted by the Korea Rural Economic Institute in October, 521 respondents (77.5%) said they curtailed their consumption by 48.9%. Approximately 19.5% of respondents stated that there was no change in the amount they consumed. E. Travel Trends In October, the number of outbound travelers reported by Hana Tour and Mode Tour saw an increase of 12.5% (158,000 pax) and 17% (82,000 pax), respectively, compared to the same period in 2012. In contrast with the first half of the year when more people traveled to short haul destinations, the number of long haul destination travelers saw an increase in the second half of the year, especially in the fourth quarter. The number of Korean travelers to Hawai i through Hana Tour increased by 32.5% in October 2013. F. Media Trends The Korea Chamber of Commerce & Industry came up with a new acronym, SENSE, to represent the latest consumer trends that those in the industry should be aware of: S for Save & control, E for Emotional female power, N for Need to heal, S for Spare no money on kids, and E for Enjoy experience. With the public s increasing anxiety over their golden years and employment, people are beginning to abstain from impulse buying and nonessential spending on shopping. The Korea Chamber of Commerce & Industry says that 94% of purchasing decisions on travel products, 80% on automobile and 91% on housing are being made by women. Need to heal refers to the trend of people spending money on products that would help them relieve the stress that builds up from living is such a competitive environment. In 2008, there were only 28 healingrelated products whose brands were trademarked, whereas there was a total of 72 in 2011. This number is expected to grow five-fold by 2020. Spare no money on kids, refers to the fact that spending on children has been greatly affected by the trend of Korean couples only having one baby, with more money being spent on the child. Lastly, to understand the importance of the acronym for Enjoy experience, Nike acts as a good example. Nike hosts the We run Seoul 10K marathon race regularly in Korea to give participants an opportunity to try Nike running 3
shoes while competing in the race. This allows people to experience the Nike products prior to purchasing them; something that experts say is becoming the most important factor that determines purchasing decision. G. Airlift British Airways (BA) will expand its direct flights between London and Seoul, from six times a week to daily starting March 2014. The Korean government will likely follow a U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ruling that eases restrictions on the use of portable electronic devices by passengers. The FAA announced that, from next year, travelers on U.S. flagged aircrafts will be able to use the devices from gate to gat. Making phone calls, however, is still prohibited. 4
II. ACTIVITY UPDATE A. Travel Trade Marketing A-1 California Travel Mission The 2013 California Travel Mission in Korea ended in huge success, with 21 California partners participating this year. The mission was held for three days from November 13 to 15, and provided a platform for the delegates to gain extensive knowledge of Korea s tourism market conditions, as well as to showcase each of their products, while networking with key travel industry partners. The details of each program are as below: Korea Tourism Market Briefing: VC Korea presented a Korea market overview and went through the details of the mission in an aim to provide the California tourism delegates a better understanding of the Korean market. Media Event: For the media event, over 30 journalists from the nation s top-notch publications were invited to learn about California and meet with the California delegates. VC Korea introduced the California delegation to the media, played a brief video Visit California at Work to show the types of programs and activities the VC Korea office has done to promote California and introduced the movie Santa Barbara as a major talking point. The Santa Barbara movie teaser was shown as the highlight of the program and the movie team made an appearance on the stage to discuss about the movie and interesting anecdotes while filming in California. The event gave an opportunity for the delegates to network with the Korean media and for the Korean media to learn more about California. With the support of Singapore Airlines and several California delegates, four prizes including a free trip to California with various attraction and accommodation 5
coupons were given out as lucky draw prizes. A media kit including all the PR stories and sales sheets of the delegates, the California Propose guidebook and the California map, and the Santa Barbara map and brochure as well as a luxury cosmetic brand inspired by Robert Mondavi s winery DAVI s skincare set were given to all the attendees as gifts. California Travel Forum: The main purpose of the California Travel Forum was to give a better understanding of the Korean market to the California delegates and share insights between the Korean tourism experts and California tourism delegates. VC Korea invited 5 special key tourism partners from various segments as below: Mr. BJ Park (United Airlines Airlines) Mr. Young-Dal Shin (Hana Tour Wholesaler) Mr. James Park (CSCO/Tour Tori Tour Operator) Mr. Doo-Hun Ji (Segyero Tour FIT Travel Agent) Mr. Jae-Myung Lee (Alamo Rent a Car Rent a Car Company) After a brief introduction of the above panel, a discussion session was conducted for over an hour. All delegates from California and the Korean panel had a vibrant discussion time about how to better develop California tour products and to attract more Korean travelers to California. VIP Dinner: The travel trade VIP dinner provided the California delegates with an opportunity to network with key travel industry partners such as airline, media and travel agent. A total of 64 VIP guests attended the VIP dinner event. Mr. BH Lee, who is a well-known movie actor and California Tourism Ambassador attended as a special guest. During his speech, BH Lee shared his memorable experience in California and asked for continuous interest and support in 6
California from the attendees. VC Korea showed a brief video Visit California Korea at Work to introduce what programs and activities the VC Korea office has done to promote California for the past few years. The main course was served after Mr. MS Yang, the President of KATA and CEO of Tour 2000, proposed a toast. During the event, Mr. Woo-Soo Jang who is a rising singer and musical actor in Korea gave a special musical performance. With the support from airline partners, five free trips to California including various attractions and accommodations were given out as grand prizes for the lucky draw event. A premium candle brand from California, AQUIESSE, and a luxury cosmetic brand inspired by Robert Mondavi s winery DAVI s skincare set were given to all attendees as gifts. Travel Mart: Since 21 delegates participated in the California Travel Mission, VC Korea selected and invited the 21 top travel agents in Korea and arranged one-on-one meetings for the delegates to promote their products and develop new business opportunities for the Korean market. VC Korea also had all the booths decorated exclusively for the delegates with their signature images and logo. The travel mart including a luncheon event and open mart was conducted for 7 hours. The travel mart generated 441 prescheduled individual appointments, with each meeting lasting for 10 minutes. During the open mart, which was conducted for two additional hours, a total of 53 guests from 40 travel agents attended and freely held meetings with the delegates. At the end of the open mart, a lucky draw event with 2 prizes was conducted. During the luncheon of the travel mart, VC Korea provided the delegates an opportunity to build a firm relationship with the staff of the 21 invited travel agent partners. During the luncheon event, a video clip of a prime time drama called The Heirs which featured different areas of southern California including Malibu beach, Huntington beach, San Diego and Los Angeles was played. After the main course, a lucky draw session was followed and 7
the 3 grand prizes were given to the guests. was also given to specially invited 21 travel agent attendees as a gift. A premium candle AQUIESSE from California A-2. Hanjin Travel TV Homeshopping Time & Date: 1AM on November 22 TV Channel: GS TV HomeShoppping Channel Partner: Korean Air Coverage: http://kaltour.com/productplan/index?exiseq=1672 Following the U.S. government shut-down, Korean travelers demand to U.S.A., especially California has reduced dramatically. The main reason of deterring potential consumers from purchasing a California tour package is because of the fear of not being able to visit the national parks in the west regions of U.S.A. To boost the demand and to introduce other attractions and themes other than the national parks, VC Korea worked with Hanjin Travel to showcase a tour product via a TV homeshopping campaign. Korean Air also allocated seats of Airbus 380, reflecting high preference of the aircraft to maximize the number of calls from the TV viewers. During the one-hour airing time, a total of 780 calls were received, showing a higher interest than the TV homeshopping campaign held in the previous month. 8
B. Communications B-1. Media Monitoring (Clippings and Publicity Calendar) In November, Visit California Korea secured PR coverage in a total of 17 publications, with an estimated circulation of over 14 million and an estimated advertising value of US $886,000. VC Korea distributed the following press release to key media representatives in Korea and followed up to ensure coverage. November 15 th : Visit California Korea Successfully Holds <2013 California Travel Mission> [Press Release Summary] Visit California Korea successfully held the <2013 California Travel Mission> from November 14-15 at The Plaza Hotel in Seoul. A total 9
of 27 representatives from 21 companies including CVBs, theme parks, attractions, hotels and shopping facilities participated in this year s event to promote California tourism and products to the Korean market. Kicking off with a media event on November 14, a series of events were held for two consecutive days to give the Korean market a chance to learn more about California. During the media event, the producers of the Korean movie Santa Barbara, slated to premiere next year, briefly showcased the movie and introduced interesting anecdotes that happened while filming in California. On the second day of the mission, a travel mart was held to provide one-on-one meetings between each member of the California delegation and major local travel agents in Seoul. Korea is California s sixth largest overseas market, accounting for more than 400,000 visitors in 2012. I hope that the travel mission served as a good opportunity for California s myriad tourism resources to garner more attention from the Korean market, said Antonette Eckert, director of Asia marketing of Visit California, who visited Seoul for the travel mission. B-2. Media FAM/Projects (1) TV Project, SBS Prime Time Drama The Heirs Seoul Broadcasting System(SBS) has filmed a 20-episode romantic comedy drama called The Heirs in California, and VC Korea tied-in with this production to promote California. Written by hit-making screenwriter Ms. Eun-sook Kim, The Heirs is about a teenage heir and an ordinary teenage girl that meets and falls in love while studying in California. The drama stars Mr. Min-ho Lee and Ms. Shin-hye Park, two A-list celebrities in Korea and Asia as well. The drama premiered on October 9 at 22:00 p.m. (local time) and is aired twice a week on Wednesdays and Thursdays. With an average rating of 20% according to Nielsen Korea, The Heirs is currently the most talked about drama in town. The drama and California are both receiving an incredible amount of attention and each 10
time an episode is aired, The Heirs becomes the number one keyword searched on Naver, the most popular and widely used search portal in Korea. Of the 20 episodes, California is exposed in 6 different episodes: episodes 1-4, 8, and 9. Episodes 1 through 4 significantly exposed California including Los Angeles, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Malibu, Huntington, Balboa Park and San Diego coastal roads. California scenes reappear again in episodes 8 and 9. VC Korea has worked closely with the U.S. Embassy to assist the The Heirs team with U.S. VISA issuance. VC Korea also worked closely with the San Diego Tourism Authority for film permit support and appropriate contact information in the San Diego region. VC Korea has supported the Heirs team by providing US $20,000 of the PR fund. In return for the support, VC Korea has received the VCK logo exposure in the ending credit on each episode as well as dialogues favorable to California (i.e. California is my favorite place in the world!, It s so much fun to surf in Malibu, and etc.) Every single one of Ms. Eun-sook Kim s dramas has been a mega-hit in Korea and The Heirs is continuing her winning streak. As Mr. Min-ho Lee is enjoying enormous popularity throughout Asia, the drama is also expected to be a big hit in other Asian countries and cable and drama channels will continuously broadcast reruns of the drama. This project is already generating an extremely high ROI and will undoubtedly create a ripple effect in the coming months and years, thus positively affect outbound tourism to California. (2) Hana Traveller s Media Visit to Los Angeles From October 27 to November 6, Hana Traveller s media crew of two, Ms. Dahee Seo (editor) and Ms. Hyelyeon Lee (photographer), is visiting San Francisco and Los Angeles 11
for two separate special features of the two regions. VCK has arranged the LA itinerary for the crew with the support of Discover Los Angeles. Hana Traveller will be covering 10 to 12 new, trendy tidbits including spots, people, items, events or activities in LA ranging from new restaurant openings, shops, hotels, and so on. The San Francisco Travel Association has supported the SF part of the visit while Brand USA has funded the crew s airfare. VCK supported the media crew with the LA part of the itinerary and one hotel room for accommodation for 3 nights. In return, Hana Traveller will be generating a Los Angeles feature story of 10 to 15 pages on their December or January issue. Hana Traveller is an influential consumer travel magazine with a circulation of 100,000, with its mother company being Hana Tour, the largest wholesale agent in Korea. Hana Traveller is distributed to 1,000 Hana Tour retail agents and is sold at bookstores for consumers as well. (3) Co-op Project with Biweekly Fashion Magazine GRAZIA From September 25 to 29, VC Korea organized an off-and-online combined celebrity fashion shoot project covering the San Francisco Bay area and Sonoma County with Grazia, one of the top biweekly fashion and trend consumer magazines in Korea. For the project, Grazia secured A-list actor and movie star Mr. Go Soo. Grazia published Mr. Go Soo s fashion shoot in the first half of November and a travelogue-type feature story on Go Soo s trip in California in the second half of November. The issue with the fashion shoot features California on 12 pages including the cover and table of contents. The issue with the travelogue features California on 4 pages. The contents from both of the issues were also introduced in VCK s newsletter distributed in November. In total, this project generated 16 pages of coverage, resulting in a PR value equivalent to US $112,000. 12
For this project, VC Korea had supported the Grazia team with the itinerary and US $6,151.84 from the PR fund for the team s accommodation in San Francisco. VC also acted as liaison to provide the Grazia team with necessary contacts in California. B-3. Press Office - Media Liaisons Visit California Korea made 25 press calls to the following major travel trade newspapers, daily newspapers and magazines to pitch California feature ideas: 1. Ms. Kwon Cho Rong, Korea Travel Information Times 2. Ms. Cho Byeong Rye, Korea Travel News 3. Ms. Ko Seo Ryeong, Korea Travel Times 4. Ms. Kim Bo Lam, Travel Focus 5. Mr. Chang Sung Bae, Yonhap Imazine 6. Mr. Yoo Sang Ho, Hankook Ilbo 7. Mr. Choi Seoung Pyo, JoongAng Ilbo 8. Mr. Choi Soo Mun, Seoul Economic Daily 9. Ms. Jang Joo Young, Maeil Business Newspaper 10. Ms. Kim Na Rang, Grazia 11. Mr. Kim Ji Woon, Sky News 12. Ms. Kim Ih Shin, Noblesse 13. Ms. Kim Eun Ryoung, Luxury 14. Ms. Han Mi Young, Health Chosun 15. Ms. Seo Da Hee, Hana Traveller 16. Ms. Chun So Hyun, Travie 17. Ms. Hong Yu Ri, Bar & Dining 18. Ms. Bak Su Hyun, Hotel & Restaurant 19. Ms. Kim Na Young, Asiana 20. Mr. Park Chan Yong, Gentlemen Korea 21. Ms. Park Soo Bin, Style H 22. Ms. Shim Ji Ah, The Lonely Planet 23. Ms. Kim Eun Hye, Woman Sense 13
24. Ms. Ko Seong Yeon, Style Chosun 25. Ms. Kim Tae Hee, Morning Calm C. Technology C-1. California Power Blogger Fam in co-op with Canon Korea Fam Period: December 5-11(5N7D) Canon conducted an orientation for the participants of the California FAM in order to do a briefing and to explain about the itinerary and guidelines of the tour. The description is as below: Orientation Date: November 28, 2013 Venue: Canon Plex in Apgujeong-dong, Seoul Participants: 40 including the bloggers and staff from Canon, VCK, and UA Program: - Registration - Greeting and introduction of all the staff - Presentation session by Visit California Korea - Presentation session by United Airlines - Presentation session by Canon (Announcement of Post Fam event) - Q & A - Wrap up Post FAM All bloggers will be given an assignment to take photos during the FAM tour and at least 6 posts will be updated on each of their blogs, the Canon blog, website, and SNS media. 14
California s Best Picture online poll event will be conducted on the VCK microsite and blog. C-3. Newsletter & Web Statistics Microsite e-newsletter: VC Korea distributed the November e-newsletter, covering the topics as below: Go behind the scenes of Visit California s latest TV commercial! Go behind the scenes and get the inside scoop on all the dreamers and dreamy places! o Introduction of TV commercial spots in California - Hollywood Sign, Hollywood - Castello di Amorosa, Calistoga/Napa Valley - Malibu s Sycamore Canyon Beach - Big Sur Romantic winter mood: Oyster road along San Francisco Bay If you love oysters... you owe it to yourself to check out the Hog Island Oyster Company Farm o Introduction of Hog Island Oyster Company Farm tours and tasting California s Issue of the Month Journey from the Fall! Introduction of Grazia's celebrity Go Soo Photo Shoot spots in San Francisco and Sonoma Introduction of travel tips for driving from San Francisco to Sonoma Festivals and Event News in November in California - Introduction of Endless Pizza Night With Charles B. Mitchell Event California Fun Spots & Hot Deals 15
- FREE Admission on Your Birthday from Lake Shasta Caverns Event News from Visit California Enjoy! California Dreaming Event - 30 winners for the California photo taking expedition were announced through Canon s official website. They will leave to the beautiful state of California on December 5 for 5N7D. California s Choice What s HOT on YouTube! California s Culinary Bounty - Tasting at the source November 2013 Website/Microsite Statistics Visits Microsite VCK Visit 658 3,718 Unique Visitors 587 3,038 % New Visits 82.22% 77.00% Avg. Visit Duration 00:52 03:29 Bounce Rate 73.56% 46.66% Pageviews 995 15,269 Pages / Visit 1.51 4.11 Visitor Type New Visitor Returning Visitor 16% 32.0% 84% 68% 17.8% 22.8% 82.2% 77.2% Microsite VCK Microsite Website Desktop Mobile/Tablet Device 16
Acquisition & Behavior- Overview <Microsite> <VCK> # # # 17