Singapore Tourism Board inks agreement with South Korean Internet company Kakao

STB and South Korean company Kakao have signed an agreement to work on a mobile platform to help bring South Korean travellers to Singapore. PHOTO: ST FILE

SINGAPORE - The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and South Korean Internet company Kakao have signed an agreement which will help boost Korean tourist numbers here.

They will be working together on Traveline Singapore, a mobile platform that will bring user-generated content on Singapore to Korean travellers. It is expected to be available by the last quarter of 2016.

Through the new platform, which will be hosted on Kakao's Traveline app, Korean visitors will be able to find out about the latest trending attractions here. They will also be able to interact with other travellers through the app, and get shopping and dining promotions.

"As travellers become more discerning and digitally-savvy, it is important that we work with partners globally to tap the opportunities that technology provides to create a seamless and personal visitor experience," said Mr Quek Choon Yang, chief technology officer at STB.

The agreement was signed on Monday (May 23). In a statement on the same day, STB said it will be looking at further collaborations with Kakao.

Singapore had around 580,000 South Korean visitors in 2015, a 7.5 per cent increase from 2014. A typical traveller from the East Asian country spends around three days here.

Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.