Industry Information

Competitors for New Zealand

South Asian short-haul destinations are putting emphasis on developing FIT (free independent travel) products. Arrivals into South Asia, China and Japan have increased in popularity as new flight options have expanded.

The independant travel market is starting to attract more attention from wholesalers who are reviewing their product range to meet the demand of this growing group of travellers.

Korean Air's mono-Australia strategy of putting a surcharge on Australia/New Zealand packages is likely to be waived completely by April. This has not been successful and the airline is concerned about slow business projections in March-June.

Tourism New Zealand Activity

100% Pure New Zealand campaign activity in the South Korean market ran in March with outdoor billboards in Seoul and outdoor advertising.

Promotions were held with Hanatour on the New Zealand honeymoon experience and an FIT promotion was held with specialised New Zealand agents.

Korean Air is launching a new promotion targetting independant travellers which will give a discount equating to NZ$2,002 for bookings made up to three months prior to travel.

Eighty travel agents attended an itinerary and product training workshop run by Tourism New Zealand in February.

Meetings have been held with outbound travel sellers to try and facilitate a resolution to the current pricing impasse between KTOC and Korean travel sellers.

The International Media Programme arranged for Korean actress and singer Kim Min Sun to visit New Zealand recently, generating coverage on TV's Food Channel Olive Network and in Ceci magazine.

Doing Business in South Korea

Personal aspects of your relationship with Korean business partners are very important and shouldn’t be neglected. A face-to-face meeting is more effective than contact by telephone or a letter when you want to seriously discuss some business with Koreans.

Koreans normally bow when they greet each other. When they bow they also welcome the opportunity to shake hands with others: foreigners, friends or strangers.

Business cards are important when doing business in Korea. It is ideal to have them printed in Korean on one side. When receiving or passing gifts, business cards or other articles, Koreans tend to use both hands as a sign of politeness.

Koreans write and say their family name first and their given name last. At business meetings, given names are not generally used; addressing people as Mr Kim, Mrs Kim or Miss Lee is most common.

Although many Koreans understand written English reasonably well, listening and speaking ability varies. Don’t assume everything you say in English is completely understood. On some occasions, Koreans may pretend to understand, although they actually don’t.

Koreans avoid making direct eye-to-eye contact when in conversation, as it is considered impolite.

Never write a person's name in red ink. Koreans only do this if the person is dead.

Koreans traditionally sit, eat and sleep on the floor, so visitors to a Korean home are very often asked to take off their shoes when they go into the house.

Do not blow your nose at the dinner table (a very discreet wipe is allowed!).

Source: www.marketnewzealand.com (Seoul City Guide)

For the latest market information please see Tourism New Zealand's e-newsletter, Regional Rap.