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Tuesday 8 June 2010
Seoul City Invites Shoppers to the Seoul Grand Sale
The Seoul Metropolitan Government and Seoul Tourism Organization invite shoppers to the ‘Seoul Grand Sale 2010’ which runs from 21 July to 12 September. Visitors to the ‘Seoul Grand Sale 2010’ can enjoy large discounts at over 5,000 stores and companies which will participate in one of the world’s best shopping festivals.
The Seoul Grand Sale was introduced in 2008 to boost Seoul’s image as one of the most desirable destinations for international shoppers and to heighten Seoul’s shopping tourism competitiveness with other cities in Asia. The shopping festival has evolved over the years and this year’s festival will welcome local and international shoppers with some improvements.
The number of companies participating in the Seoul Grand Sale jumped dramatically. Last year, 810 stores covering beauty, shopping, food, culture, tourism, health care and accommodations participated in the annual shopping festival but this year over 5,000 stores are participating. Local and international shoppers are expected to enjoy substantial benefits during the shopping festival period as popular stores such as convenience stores, duty free shops and even coffee shops will also be participating.
The Seoul Grand Sale 2010 will also expand its scope this year. The Seoul Metropolitan
Government said this year’s festival will not only feature various events such as a grand opening ceremony and street events in Seoul’s major tourism zones. The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to distinguish the festival from a simple bargain event and make it a fresh mixture of tourism, culture, and shopping.
To lure shoppers from around the world and make their stay in Seoul more comfortable and convenient, the Seoul Metropolitan Government will launch a social media ad campaign. This year, the city government plans to make the best use of domestic and international social media networking sites such as blogs and Twitter for promotion. It will also strengthen its promotion efforts on its YouTube page since videos from last year’s festival were well received by international shoppers.
Last but not least, the Seoul city government will provide special coupons for the top 20 popular chain stores in the shopping, food, and tourism sectors. The government will provide shoppers with mobile coupons and a special membership card for use at the “Big 20” stores, in addition to the paper discount coupons. To target a growing number of smartphone users, the city government will also launch an augmented reality application that will enable shoppers to locate stores easily and efficiently with their phones.
An official with the Seoul Tourism Organization said “The Seoul Grand Sale 2010 will benefit a variety of groups as it will revitalize domestic demand and the tourism industry, offer special price markdowns to local and international shoppers, and grant participating stores a chance to improve their visibility internationally and raise their revenue in sales in the off-season.”
“The Seoul city government will work hard to prepare for the shopping festival so that people who visit Seoul during the 54-day festival in the future will be fascinated by Seoul’s alluring points.”
Full details regarding participating stores and how to obtain coupons are available from the Seoul Grand Sale 2010 website www.seoulgrandsale.com General travel information can be obtained from the official travel website for Korea www.visitkorea.or.kr