Government/Tourism Corporation ‘Alam Arabi Korea’ project
Spend 50 times more than regular tourists
Targeting the ‘Middle East super rich’
Companies included in ultra-luxury packages
36 locations including Shilla Hotel and Cha Hospital
Specialized products such as beauty products to be launched next year
Enlarge photo “Catch the Middle East super rich.”
A Korean luxury travel dream team is emerging to capture the super-rich travelers to the Middle East, whose per-person spending is more than 50 times that of regular travelers. The plan is to complete the lineup by the end of this year and then introduce ultra-expensive luxury courses to Korea ranging from 10 million won to up to 300 million won early next year. As it consists of ultra-high-priced products worth hundreds of millions of won, expectations are high that it will be a surprising medicine for improving the travel balance.
According to the travel industry on the 28th, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization are offering ultra-high-priced luxury flights to Korea for the super-rich from six countries that make up the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain. It was confirmed that in order to formulate the product, 36 travel dream teams were first selected and the package product composition began.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization plan to confirm the final lineup after additional verification by the end of this year. This first dream team, named ‘Alam Arabi Korea’ (Arab World in Korea), a public-private council in the Middle East, has a total of 36 locations, including 11 lodging, 10 medical, 3 beauty, 4 shopping, 3 food and beverage, and 5 K-culture locations. It’s a place.
The lodging team includes many representative 5-star hotels such as Shilla Hotel, Lotte Hotels & Resorts, and Fairmont Ambassador Seoul. In particular, the medical lineup that will create high added value includes Cha Medical Center (Chaum), KMI Korean Medical Research Institute in the field of examination and women, Gangnam JS Hospital (orthopedics), Jaseng Oriental Medicine Hospital (oriental medicine), and Minish Dental Hospital. The shopping lineup is also spectacular. All major companies, including Hyundai and Lotte Department Store, as well as Shinsegae and Hotel Lotte Duty Free, were selected.
The spending of the Middle East’s super rich is beyond imagination. JS Hospital, known in the Middle East as ‘Hiddink Rehabilitation Hospital’, already attracts royal patients from Qatar, UAE, and other countries on VIP planes, despite the high cost of treatment ranging from 100 million to 300 million won.
In particular, in Qatar, the government covers all medical expenses (including lodging expenses) for the patient and one guardian, so even family members come together. It is estimated that about 10 people, including 2 or 3 butlers, stay in a connecting room for more than a month and spend an average of 100 to 300 million won in total medical expenses. This is 50 times the average per-person travel cost of foreigners coming to Korea in 2023 ($2,152).
Travel to Korea is rapidly increasing, not only among the super-rich, especially the royal family, but also among regular Middle Eastern travelers. As of August this year, the number of tourists from GCC countries who visited Korea increased by more than 39% compared to the same period last year. Compared to 2019, just before COVID-19, it has grown by more than 110%. The average spending by regular travelers to the Middle East was calculated to be $3,637 (approximately 5 million won) per person, which is 1.5 times the cost of other foreign tourists traveling to Korea.
“The popularity of K-medical care in the Middle East surpasses K-pop,” said Kang Yoo-young, head of the Korea Tourism Organization’s Asia-Middle East team, who is carrying out the Dream Team’s practical work. “At a recent medical tourism event held in Qatar, a Korean hair loss treatment with a down payment of around 1 million won was offered. “Qatar government officials were surprised by the large number of applicants,” he said.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization plan to first introduce K-beauty products worth more than 10 million won, and then sequentially release medical tourism courses priced in the hundreds of millions of won once the medical lineup is confirmed.
The K-beauty course will consist of ‘skin care, hair and makeup, and profile photo shooting’ while staying at a 5-star hotel. Skin care and hair costs at least 1 million won, and profile photo shoots cost 1 million won per hour. In addition, luxury hotel accommodations and Michelin restaurants are added.
The medical tourism course includes dentistry focusing on implants and orthodontic treatment, dermatology, which is gaining popularity due to K Water Gwang, and orthopedics mainly focusing on hair loss, oriental medicine, and stem cell treatments. The stay in Korea is expected to last more than a month, and the cost of treatment is expected to range from tens of millions of won to as much as 300 million won, so it is expected to play a significant role in earning foreign currency.
The Korea Tourism Organization is also planning to distribute information pamphlets in Arabic and English to relevant embassies by the end of this year. “We plan to finalize the lineup and materialize product development to attract the Middle East’s super-rich by the end of this year,” said Kang, head of the division. “We will increase the number of participating companies through a rigorous qualification screening process twice a year in the future.”
[신익수 여행전문기자]
