Korea Upgrades Infrastucture For The World Cup
<B> Korea Upgrades Infrastucture For The World Cup</B>
By Judy Jacobs
Korea is in the process of upgrading its hotel and transportation infrastructure in a series of projects that will greatly increase what it has to offer to business travelers. From its first bullet train and a new international airport to 10 new Holiday Inns, the country is laying the groundwork for an expanded role in the international arena.
As is often the case, the immediate impetus for much of the development is an international event, in this case the World Cup 2002 soccer championship, which will take place in various cities throughout Korea. The end result, however, will be improvements that will endure long after the games are over. Perhaps the most important of these, a new bullet train already is under construction.
The high-speed train will connect Korea's two most important cities--Seoul in the country's northwest corner and Pusan in the southeast. The train will average nearly 200 mph and make the journey between Seoul and Pusan in two hours. But the route covers other important economic centers as well, including Taejon in central Korea. The train's inaugural operation, in fact, will be between Seoul and Taejon, a route scheduled to be ready by 2001.
The train will create a more efficient domestic transportation network, thus helping the country's economic development. "The development of the Seoul-Pusan high-speed train will open other major Korean cities to more international business," said Sang-Oh Lee, director of the Los Angeles office of the Korean National Tourism Corp.
The Korean government also is planning to develop eight industrial complexes in outlying areas. One of the first of these will be the Taejon Hi-Tech Complex.
The second transportation infrastructure project expected to help make business travel more efficient is the new Inchon International Airport. It is being built on landfill between the islands of Yongjong and Yongyu off the west coast of Korea near Inchon, 30 miles west of Seoul.
The airport has been delayed from its original planned 2000 opening date to 2001, when the facility will begin operations with two of its proposed four runways and a 24-hour schedule. Inchon International Airport is scheduled to be totally completed in 2020. A high-speed electric train, which will carry passengers between Inchon and Seoul in 15 minutes, also is scheduled to open in 2001.
Meanwhile, the number of business travelers to the country is expected to steadily rise. "With the current upgrades in Korea's credit ratings, an increasing foreign investment trend, a healthier stock market, coupled with domestic investments in tourism and infrastructure, Korea is expecting a higher number of business travelers this year," Lee said.
Among other factors that will result in an increase of international business travelers is Korea's relaxation of its investment laws last year, which allowed foreign ownership of companies in 11 major industries. In line with this, an investment promotion mission--made up of 70 members, including 47 representatives of local Korean governments--is traveling throughout the United States this April. The mission's goal is to interest American investors in 73 projects in local provinces, as well as 13 major businesses that are currently for sale.
These and other increased business opportunities are expected to promote more business travel to outlying regions. To help house these travelers, Bass Hotels and Resorts has announced plans for 10 Holiday Inn hotels throughout Korea. The planned medium-size hotels, each with at least 100 rooms, will be built mostly in cities that will host the 2002 World Cup soccer finals.
Although the hotel sites have not been officially announced, the 10 cities where the Korean government is spending a total of $1.5 billion to build new stadiums for the World Cup finals are Chonju, Inchon, Kwanju, Pusan, Seoul, Sogwipo (Cheju Island), Suwon, Taegu, Taejon and Ulsan. The new hotels will greatly expand Holiday Inn's presence in Korea. The company currently has only two properties in the country, the Holiday Inn Seoul and the Crowne Plaza Cheju.