Since tourism has always showed remarkable resilience during other crises in Asia and the Pacific, how confident are you of the ability of countries in the region to survive the current crisis? SK: We are confident East Asian tourism powerhouses will recover from the current recession in two or three years, especially because Chinese tourists continue to travel in great numbers. Inevitably, there will be some setbacks and delays in the planned new constructions through the region, but our expectation is that, too, will be rather short-lived.
In Korea, the tourism industry is actually turning the crisis into an opportunity to strengthen its inbound tourism and to mount vigorous overseas marketing. We are determined to keep the upward momentum even after the effects of the devalued Korean Won disappear.
Seoul, selected as the World Design Capital 2010, has embarked on a mammoth effort to make Seoul more attractive through bold renovation and new construction such as the Han River and Namsan Mountain Renaissance projects. Seoul is also being reborn as a green city. Its air is much cleaner now, with city buses running on natural gas.