KOREA'S INCHEON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT is becoming a leisure destination in its own right. And while many projects are still on the drawing board, there are already products agents can book for their clients.
The six-year-old airport, which is 37 miles from Seoul, has instituted a selection of tours ideal for travelers with longish layovers. These range in duration from a one-hour Temple Tour, priced at $5, to a five-hour Demilitarized Zone Tour, priced at $80. The five-hour Sky Golf Tour offers 18 holes at Sky 72, site of the largest golf course in northeast Asia, five minutes away from the airport. Note that the tour requires a minimum of four people and that weekday rates, which include transportation, green fees, cart rental and caddy service, are $230; weekend and holiday rates are $270. There are also options for shorter golf tours for nine holes of play and time on the practice range.
"There is a lot to choose from, from tours as short as one hour up to five hours," says Frank H. Shin, L.A. office director of the Korea Tourism Organization ( http://www.tour2korea.com/). He recommends the Incheon City Tour, which includes a ferry ride to Incheon City, where visitors explore Incheon City's Chinatown and Jayu Park—also known as Freedom Park, famous for its statue of General MacArthur. Shin also suggests a Seoul City Tour.
The airport is set to open Fashion Island on a nearby160-acre site. Targeted to debut 2008-2011, Fashion Island comes with a $1 billion sticker price and will comprise a fashion convention center, fashion academy, shopping mall and water park. There are also plans underway for MGM to develop a theme park on the scale of Disney and Universal.
Airport Amenities
Meanwhile, guests visiting Incheon International Airport will now find that "passenger-friendly" is the buzz phrase for the facility. Amenities currently include an Internet lounge with bargain-priced access at five cents a minute, massage and sauna facilities with massage costing only $8 for 30 minutes, a children's playroom, storage lockers free of charge up to one day, a Traditional Experience Korea location where visitors can learn about and make traditional Korean handicrafts and numerous restaurants and duty free shops. The airport also has a Transit Hotel (+82-32-743-7433) with rooms from $45.
Another Incheon International Airport perk is that access to the facility was improved with the completion of a 37-mile railway linking it with downtown Seoul. The construction of a second bridge connecting to Yongjong Island, where the airport is located, with the mainland is underway. When completed in 2009, the six-lane, 7.6 mile Incheon Grand Bridge will be the longest bridge in Korea and the sixth longest in the world.
The operating body aims to make the airport a global top-five hub by 2010. Incheon International Airport currently ranks number 10 in international passenger traffic. "We're quite sure we can become the hub of northeast Asia," says Joon Jung, executive director, hub strategy division, Incheon International Airport Corporation. This year the airport will see 31 million international passengers; when the new terminal is completed, capacity will jump to 44 million. The airport will ultimately have two passenger terminals, four concourses and four runways. The Hyatt Regency Incheon ( http://www.incheon.regency.hyatt.com/) is a little over half a mile from the airport. The 523-room hotel, which primarily targets business travelers, has three floors of Regency Club rooms and suites that offer a greater level of service and amenities. Those seeking dramatic views of airplanes landing and taking off should opt for a standard room on the west side of the hotel. The standard room rate is $310 a night, double. Samuel Kim, director of marketing for the hotel, advises that spring and autumn are the busiest seasons and that it's best to book three weeks out for midweek stays and six weeks out for weekend visits.