Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee Pham Anh Tuan Meets with HanaTour to Promote Tourism Cooperation Between Gia Lai and the Republic of Korea

Overview of the working session.

The meeting was conducted in an open and constructive atmosphere, reflecting Gia Lai Province’s strong commitment to enhancing international cooperation, promoting its tourism image, and expanding international visitor markets, particularly the Republic of Korea, which is currently one of Vietnam’s key tourism source markets.

Chairman Pham Anh Tuan (far right) discusses opportunities to strengthen tourism cooperation between Gia Lai and the Republic of Korea with HanaTour.

Speaking at the meeting, Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee Pham Anh Tuan expressed his appreciation for the warm reception extended by HanaTour’s leadership to the provincial delegation. He also highlighted Gia Lai Province’s outstanding potential and advantages in tourism and service development. According to the Chairman, Gia Lai possesses abundant tourism resources, featuring distinctive historical, cultural, and natural values. The province’s tourism landscape extends from the coastal region to the Central Highlands, encompassing numerous scenic attractions, diverse ecosystems, and the unique cultural identities of various ethnic communities.

Members of the Gia Lai provincial delegation participate in the working session.

Besides its advantages in tourism resources, Gia Lai also has favorable conditions in terms of transportation infrastructure, with an integrated connectivity system that includes two airports, seaports, international border gates, and an increasingly complete inter-regional transport network. The province’s accommodation facilities and tourism services have been upgraded and improved to meet the diverse needs of both domestic and international visitors, offering good service quality at reasonable costs.

HanaTour representatives

Chairman of the Gia Lai Provincial People’s Committee Pham Anh Tuan also noted that, in recent years, many Korean enterprises have shown interest in, explored, and invested in Gia Lai Province across various sectors, including tourism. A notable example is the Culture, Sports, Entertainment, Commerce, Services and Tourism Complex No. 1 Project, implemented by Blooming Sky Co., Ltd., with a total registered investment capital of more than USD 99 million. This is a positive sign, demonstrating that the province’s investment environment is becoming increasingly attractive to foreign investors.

Providing further information on the province’s upcoming tourism promotion activities, Mr. Pham Anh Tuan stated that Gia Lai will host the National Tourism Year 2026 under the theme “From the Great Highlands to the Blue Sea”. The event is expected to create a strong promotional impact, introducing the land and people of Gia Lai to domestic and international visitors through a series of large-scale cultural, sports, and tourism activities held throughout the year. The province aims to welcome approximately 13 million tourist arrivals. However, according to the Chairman, the number of international visitors to Gia Lai has not yet matched the province’s potential and existing advantages. Therefore, the province hopes that HanaTour, together with Vietnamese travel companies, will study and develop tourism products and tour packages tailored to the preferences of Korean travelers. At the same time, it seeks to strengthen promotion and market connectivity efforts, gradually positioning Gia Lai as an attractive new destination for visitors from the Republic of Korea.

Ms. Bui Hai Huyen, Standing Deputy Chief Executive Officer of FLC Group, speaks at the working session.

In particular, the province expects the two sides to cooperate in promoting the operation of charter flights directly connecting the Republic of Korea and Gia Lai in the near future. For its part, the province is committed to accompanying, supporting, and creating the most favorable conditions for travel companies in the process of conducting surveys, developing tourism products, and expanding the market. Chairman Pham Anh Tuan also respectfully invited HanaTour’s senior leadership to visit Gia Lai on the occasion of the first charter flight from the Republic of Korea to the province, which is expected to take place in September this year.

Mr. Chang Ho Ryu discusses opportunities for tourism cooperation between Gia Lai and the Republic of Korea with the Gia Lai provincial delegation.

Speaking at the meeting, Mr. Chang Ho Ryu, Vice President of HanaTour, highly appreciated the efforts of Gia Lai Province’s leadership in investment promotion and tourism development. He noted that the fact that provincial leaders had personally traveled to the Republic of Korea to promote the province and strengthen cooperation demonstrated a strong commitment to making tourism a key economic sector of the locality.

According to Mr. Chang Ho Ryu, Gia Lai possesses many favorable conditions to become an attractive destination for Korean tourists, thanks to its abundant tourism resources, distinctive natural landscapes, investor-friendly policies, and an increasingly well-developed tourism infrastructure system. These are important factors that enable travel companies to design and develop new tourism products.

Chairman of the Gia Lai Provincial People’s Committee Pham Anh Tuan presents a commemorative gift to Mr. Chang Ho Ryu.

Ms. Bui Hai Huyen, Standing Deputy Chief Executive Officer of FLC Group, presents a gift to Mr. Chang Ho Ryu.

The Vice President of HanaTour stated that the company would coordinate with travel partners in Vietnam and Gia Lai to research and develop tourism programs tailored to market demand, thereby gradually connecting the Korean tourist market with the province. In particular, once the aviation infrastructure is capable of supporting charter flight operations, HanaTour will continue to study the feasibility of launching two-way charter flight routes, helping bring Korean visitors to Gia Lai while promoting exchanges and cooperation between the two sides.

The Gia Lai provincial delegation and representatives of HanaTour pose for a commemorative photo.

At the meeting, representatives of HanaTour’s member companies and related organizations also exchanged views and discussed a wide range of issues, including cooperation mechanisms, destination promotion, tourism product development, and plans for operating charter flights. The agreements reached during the meeting are expected to create new opportunities for cooperation between Gia Lai Province and Korean partners, contributing to enhancing the competitiveness of the local tourism industry while promoting the attraction of international visitors in the coming years.