The city of Yantai in Shandong province launched a tourism promotion campaign in South Korea on June 3. The campaign ran until June 7, during which a string of agreements were made.

At the promotion meeting in Seoul, Yantai’s tourism association signed agreements with South Korea's Walking League and China-South Korea Mountain-climbing Cultural Association. Based on the agreements, the Walking League will send 2,000 walking enthusiasts to Yantai and the climbing association will send around 5,000 mountain climbers to the city every year, to participate in tourism and communication activities.

Yantai's tourism bureau reached an agreement with the tourism bureau of Busan while visiting the city. The agreement was designed to enhance cooperation on cruise tours.

Yantai's delegation also attended the 2015 Hana Tour International Travel Fair in Goyang, South Korea. The delegation focused on promoting Yantai's distinctive tourism products, including golf, wine, walking and mountain climbing tours, which were welcomed by local travel agencies.

A visit was also paid by the delegation to the Medical Tourism Association, Cultural Media Group and a cruise company in Incheon. As part of the visits, the Chinese delegation encouraged its South Korean counterparts to set up cosmetic surgery institutions in Yantai and to boost medical tourism between the two sides. They also outlined efforts to improve cruise tourism promotion.

China and South Korea have designated 2015 as the "China Tourism Year" in South Korea, while 2016 will be the "South Korea Tourism Year" in China. The two sides will make joint efforts to elevate bilateral personnel exchanges to 10 million in 2016.

Edited by Jacob Hooson