Published on : Thursday, August 30, 2018
The games introduced the high-speed rail (KTX) to the quiet seaside city of Gangneung. Travellers can now commute to and from Seoul in a matter of just 1.5 hours, compared to the previous 4.5 hours.
Chung Man Ho, the vice governor of the Gangwon Provincial Government said that transportation accessibility for the province has “improved dramatically”.
Some 2.4 trillion won (US$2.1 billion) was spent for the Pyeongchang Olympics, and of that sum, 1.5 trillion won went towards social overhaul – including the construction of highways and cleaning up of streets – which “had a huge benefit for Gangwon as a whole”, Ho said.
The area has also seen considerable hospitality developments: among them Ramada Gangwon Sokcho by Wyndham Hotel Group, Lakai Sandpine Resort, St John’s Hotel and Gangneung Tourist Hotel deserve special mention.
More is in the pipeline. Leanne Harwood, InterContinental Hotel Group’s vice president operations, South-east Asia and Korea, hinted that the group is eyeing developments that can “cater to guests (such as) winter sports enthusiasts” visiting Alpensia Pyeongchang.
Besides the Winter Olympics, stakeholders believe that improving North-South political climate has also brought back confidence in tourism to Gangwon, which lies along the border with North Korea.
Among 100 million visitors to Gangwon annually, three million are foreigners. The province hopes to grow this to four million this year, and five million by 2020.
With upcoming international events, arrival numbers are expected to grow beyond expectations.