Queensland ‘Seoul Food’
New reality TV series to kick South Korean bucket list travel aspirations along
As Queensland’s tourism looks to reboot its fortunes in the key Asian market, the sector has received a major boost with one of South Korea’s leading broadcast stations announcing plans to begin production for a new reality TV series set in the Sunshine State.
The Seoul Broadcast System-produced program, ‘Bucket List Travel to Australia’ will follow five high-profile South Korean celebrities as they explore the Gold Coast and wider Queensland with everything from the Gold Coast’s 52-kilometres of beaches and Wonder Reef to World Heritage-listed rainforest, native wildlife, and a plethora of unique tourism experiences.
‘Bucket List Travel to Australia’ will air in a prime-time slot in South Korea later this year and is expected to generate more than $40 million in publicity to profile Queensland destinations.
Destination Gold Coast CEO, Patricia O’Callaghan said South Korea has always been an important market for the Gold Coast.
“Pre-COVID, South Korea was our sixth largest market for international holiday visitors and we saw steady loads when Jetstar commenced direct services between Seoul and Gold Coast,” Ms O’Callaghan said.
“We know South Koreans have an affinity with nature, blue skies, and a relaxed lifestyle which are all attributes of a Gold Coast holiday.
“The reality TV series will not only showcase the breadth and depth of what’s on offer for South Koreans in the Sunshine State after two years of border closures but help to keep the Gold Coast top-of-mind for future travel considerations.”
Destined to be a South Korean reality TV fan favourite, renowned producer, Jiwon Lee, will be at the helm. He is best known for ‘Law of the Jungle’, which has become one of South Korea’s most popular and long-running reality documentary series.
The 34,000 Koreans who visited the Gold Coast in 2019 spent almost 280,000 nights in destination.
The announcement comes as Destination Gold Coast joins ‘Team Queensland’ – Tourism and Events Queensland (TEQ), Brisbane Economic Development Agency (BEDA) and Tourism Tropical North Queensland (TTNQ) – for a five-day tourism mission in South Korea and Japan, meeting with airlines and trade partners to reacquaint them with the Gold Coast.
Destination Gold Coast partnered with TEQ, Tourism Australia, BEDA and TTNQ to secure the series.
Mike Parker-Brown is a UK-trained and qualified journalist and an award-winning travel communicator with more than 30 years experience.
Since 2002, Mike has worked as a freelance writer and PR consultant providing his services to major organisations in Australia and internationally in the tourism, aviation, hospitality, recruitment and export marketing sectors.
