By Reporter Anna Kim 

On June 16, Lee Jong-hwan, chairman of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee of Seoul City Council, met with a 20-member delegation led by Czech Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Regional Development Ivan Bartosch at the Seoul Tourism Plaza to share mutual interests in promoting sustainable tourism development.

The meeting was held to strengthen mutual cooperation on tourism promotion between Seoul and the Czech Republic, and was attended by Gil Ki-yeon, CEO of the Seoul Tourism Organization, Ivan Bartos, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Regional Development of the Czech Republic, and Gustav Slamecka, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Korea.

The focus of the meeting was on exploring ways to promote tourism exchanges for more mutual visits, sustainable and multi-layered approaches and development following the resumption of Korean Air's direct Incheon-Prague route in March this year.

The Czech Republic, a central European country with a population of about 10.72 million (as of 2021) with Prague as its capital, was a popular tourist destination with 400,000 Koreans visiting annually prior to COVID-19, but flights were suspended due to the spread of COVID-19 in 2020, and the resumption of Korean Air's Incheon-Prague route at the end of March this year is expected to accelerate the recovery of the tourism market.

"The Czech Republic is traditionally a strong sports powerhouse in ball games such as soccer and baseball, as well as ice hockey, which is the national ball game," said Lee Jong-hwan, chairman of the committee, welcoming the Czech delegation to the Seoul Tourism Organization. "As Korea and the Czech Republic are striving to build friendly relations, let's have various sports exchanges."

"With sports exchanges, we can revitalize various tourism industries such as fashion, beauty, culture, and mountain climbing," he said, expressing his expectations for the recovery of the tourism market.

"We hope that today's meeting will result in meaningful discussions to build a win-win relationship between the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the Seoul Tourism Organization, the Seoul Tourism Foundation, and the Czech National Tourist Board," Lee said, adding, "At the Seoul Metropolitan Government level, we will also discuss in-depth ways to revitalize tourism exchanges with the Czech Republic to prepare support measures and actively work to attract tourists.“