"After You" Campaign proposed for tourism...

Seoul needs an "After You" campaign to make foreign visitors feel more welcome, the city's top tour promoter said Friday.

"Koreans are the most hospitable people in the world but they are shy of showing this to people they meet for the first time," said Samuel Koo, CEO of the Seoul Tourism Organization (STO), in an interview The Korea Times.

Koo referred to the barrier that keeps Koreans from showing their true emotions to strangers as "thin ice."

"Please, thank you and excuse me are the three magic phrases they need to know," Koo said as the theme of a campaign for Seoul and Korea.

Koo said that a "Be Kind to Visitors" campaign reflects what he felt after reading Korea's ranking in the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index compiled by the World Economic Forum.

Korea was ranked 31st overall, behind Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan in Asia, but performed poorly in travel and tourism, being ranked 114th among a total of 133 countries.

"Seoul, until very recently, was not considered as a tourism destination. This is beginning to change. We've managed to put Seoul on the international tourism map.

"My special emphasis is on introducing iconic Korean food. It is not only competitive globally but also good, healthy and delicious. This coincides with the pan-national campaign to 'globalize' Korean food," he said.

Koo thinks that Asian countries can cooperate more when it comes to tourism than compete. He even suggested a "Visit Each Other Year" in Asia.

"I think more and more Koreans should visit Japan and China, even in large numbers. Worrying about this sort of travel deficit is nonsense. I think for Korea, more people should go abroad than staying at home for the sake of keeping the national travel balance in the black," Koo said. "Student visits are very important as there is no better substitute than having children know about their neighboring countries."


He advised Seoulites to be kinder and gentler to draw more visitors from around the world.