With its scenic beauty and unique cultural and historical heritage, Korea has much to offer international tourists. A peninsular country with four distinct seasons, the nation boasts picturesque valleys, mountains, rivers and beaches. Throughout the country, there are numerous ancient temples and shrines, royal palaces, sculptural images, pagodas, archeological sites, fortresses, folk villages and museums. Most recently, travel between South and North Korea was launched, and other sightseeing programs under co-sponsorship with the North Korean authorities are also anticipated.

Moreover, due to its high-quality facilities and favorable geographic conditions and climate, Korea has recently gained a great deal of popularity as a site for winter sports, especially in East Asia. In addition, Korea has successfully hosted the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in October 2000. It is now preparing to co-host the 2002 World Cup soccer finals, and making great efforts to become one of the most attractive tourist destinations.

Korea's tourism industry has been growing by leaps and bounds over the last two decades. The number of foreign visitors increased from 173,335 in 1970 to 4.6 million in 1999. The development of Korea? tourism industry is a natural consequence of its phenomenal economic growth, but the specific allocation of resources has also been a vital factor. The government enacted a series of tourism promotion laws which resulted in an average growth rate of 5.57 percent annually in tourist arrivals over the last decade.

There have been massive projects to develop tourism resources and facilities such as accommodations, transportation, tourist services, national parks, museums, golf courses and casinos. Increasing numbers of tourist guides, proficient in English, Japanese and other languages, are being trained and deployed. Most of the tourism development and promotion projects have been spearheaded by the Korea National Tourism Organization (KNTO).

The nationality of tourists arriving in Korea has been shifting over the last two decades, from Americans to Asians. In 1970, Americans accounted for 32 percent of inbound tourists, while Japanese formed the second largest group. By 1999, however, visitors from Japan accounted for 46.9 percent of the total, followed by visitors from North and South America - mainly the United States - at 10 percent. In addition, visitors from China have been increasing steadily since the establishment of relations between Korea and China. In 1999, Chinese were the third largest group. Visitors from Southeast Asia, including Hong Kong, have also been on the rise.