The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) has successfully attracted a series of medium-to-large-scale incentive tour groups from India, with approximately 2,000 Indian tourists expected to visit Korea this coming September.

First, about 1,400 employees from the global health and wellness company Herbalife India will visit Seoul and Gangwon Province over three separate trips between September 6 and 11. To secure this group, the KTO’s New Delhi office has been in continuous contact with Herbalife India since 2024. The organization actively promoted Korea’s tourism content and MICE support programs by hosting a MICE briefing in Bengaluru, where Herbalife’s Indian headquarters is located.

Although Herbalife had initially considered Georgia as a strong candidate for their incentive trip, they ultimately chose Korea after confirming the KTO’s strong commitment to support during a site inspection in June of this year, which included meetings with KTO executives. Currently, over 90% of the participants have completed their flight bookings, and the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in India is actively supporting the visa issuance process.

In addition, 465 employees from the Indian paint manufacturing and distribution company Birla Opus will visit Seoul and Gyeonggi Province from September 1 to 7. The size of this group, originally planned for about 300, expanded to 465 following the KTO’s support for a pre-trip site inspection, which led to high satisfaction with the Korean tourism program.

Incentive tour groups from Indian companies are considered representative high-value tourists, as they predominantly use 5-star hotels. While Indian companies have traditionally favored Europe and Southeast Asia as their primary MICE destinations, the recent popularity of K-Culture has boosted the favorability of Korea, leading to an increasing number of major Indian firms actively considering Korea as a new destination for incentive travel.

Meanwhile, the influx of medium-to-large-scale Indian incentive groups continues, with 650 employees from the leading Indian financial company HDFC visiting Korea last May. The number of Indian incentive tour visitors directly attracted and supported by the KTO through the third quarter of this year is expected to reach 4,075, a 279% increase compared to the same period last year. With more medium-to-large-scale incentive groups scheduled to visit in the fourth quarter, the total number of visitors for the year is expected to exceed 10,000.

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