Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Boosting tourism exchange between Brunei and Korea


By Khairil Hassan

The Asean-Korea Centre will be organising the Asean Tourism Human Resources Development (HRD) Programme on September 3 and 4 in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei. Co-organised with the Brunei Tourism Development Department, Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources, the Tourism HRD Programme aims to build the capacity of tourism professionals and boost tourism exchange between Brunei and Korea by further enhancing awareness of Korea in Brunei Darussalam.

With 40 participants from both public and private sectors related to Bruneian tourism, the two-day HRD Programme will provide a series of lectures on Korean tourism, culture, and language.

Specifically, lectures will have an in-depth analysis of tourism trends and prospects of the Korean tourism market; a general overview of Korea including its history, culture, lifestyle that will facilitate the understanding of Korean tourists and a practical language training course on basic Korean expressions that can be used by tourism professionals in providing better services for Korean tourists.

By utilising its assets of beautiful nature and historical monuments, Brunei plans to promote eco-tourism, culture, heritage and Islamic tourism through the Brunei Tourism Master Plan 2012-2016. Through this Master Plan, the country has set its target to increase tourist arrivals from 242,061 in 2011 to 417,157 in 2016, as well as to double the tourism revenue from B$155 million to B$351 million in 2016.

Given such developments, this upcoming programme, which offers feasible ways on how to provide better services tailored to the needs of the Korean travellers, is expected to further enhance the capacity of Bruneian tourism professionals.

Bandar Seri Begawan is the centre of Brunei's commerce, finance and government, and is also the heart of Brunei's cultural landscape. Grounded in Islamic traditions, the city's breath-taking golden mosque, Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien, and the world's largest water village, Kampong Ayer, offers a glimpse of the nation's Islamic charm and a sense of peace that makes it one of Asia's most distinctive capital cities.

The Asean-Korea Centre is an inter-governmental organisation aiming to increase trade volume, accelerate investment flow, invigorate tourism and enrich cultural exchanges between the Asean Member States and the Republic of Korea.

Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin
.
.