Korean Air to Benefit From Visa Waiver Program

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Korean Air will realize significant benefits when the U.S. waives visa requirements for South Korean tourists and business people, planned for next week. And a visa waiver program (VWP) for South Korea will reap dollars into the U.S. travel and tourism industry.

Korean visitors spent more than $3 billion in the U.S. last year, up 9% from the previous year. And three years after VWP originally became effective, 70% of the countries showed a 50% or more increase in visitors to the U.S.

“With easier access to America, the number of Korean visitors will increase significantly,” says John Jackson, Korean Air’s director of marketing of the Americas. “There should be an immediate increase of visitors traveling for short term language courses, tourism and family visits. Predictions are for over a 10% increase the first year of VWP,” he says.

“Korean Air has been a leader in the visa waiver program, having worked for more than a decade toward its enactment. This program will help economies on both sides of the Pacific,” Jackson says.

“Korean Air is set to benefit significantly from this because we carry more people between America and Korea than any other airline,” he says. “We already are planning an increase in flights across the Pacific next year. We’re estimating anywhere from a 5% to 7% capacity increase. For example, in December, we’re upping our frequency to Washington and San Francisco to daily flights instead of four per week.

“In addition, we’re producing a significant ad campaign in America that will air only in Korea and promote America to Korean tourists. This encouragement plus the ability to travel more easily will definitely inspire more visits,” Jackson says.

With a fleet of 125 aircraft, Korean Air is one of the world’s top 20 airlines and flies from more cities in the Americas to more cities in Asia than any other airline.

About Korean Air: Korean Air operates almost 400 passenger flights per day to 116 cities in 39 countries. It is a founding member of SkyTeam, the global airlines alliance - partnering Aeroflot, AeroMexico, Air France, Alitalia, China Southern Airlines, CSA Czech Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, KLM and Northwest Airlines to provide customers with extensive worldwide destinations, flights and services. More on Korean Air's programs, routes, frequency and partners is available at www.koreanair.com.