Popularity of Public Relations Travel Groups Increasing

“An African exploration group made up of 18 college students with different majors is going to travel the continent for 29 days beginning January 30.”

This newspaper received a press release containing the above written by college students via e-mail in early January. The document details profiles of travelers, work allocation, proceedings before the trip, and plans after the trip.

After returning late February, they plan to publish a book and hold a photo exhibition with the theme of African Culture. Also, they plan to appear on TV. Already they have secured sponsorships from Kodak Korea, which has provided all the film for the trip.

Kim Hyeong-jin, a member of the team, said, “As Africa, a place where people may feel difficult to go to, is our theme, we would like to share our experiences after the journey through books and pictures.”

Another member, Yoo Ki-ung, said, “Before the trip, we promoted our plan and got support. We feel a sense of achievement.”

On campus, several kinds of groups have become popular: backpacking groups, travel groups for voluntary work, and even travel groups for public relations (PR). The groups for PR promote travel to the media, companies, and civic groups, and they plan trips to get support, including financial support. The PR groups are attracted to this idea as they have gotten the chance to have unique experiences and travel with the support of business.

Dokdo Rider, a four-member PR travel group, returned to Korea after a 238-day global bike journey. The journey is a part of a promotional campaign to show that the Dokdo Islet belong to Korea. The journey started with a press release to the media and companies. The Young Korean Academy, a civic group, received financial support of 100 million won from GS Caltex and the Industrial Bank of Korea. After completing the trip, the group got media attention by holding an achievement review meeting.

PR travels have a synergy effect on sponsoring companies. The bank, which supported the Dokdo Rider group, said, “Claiming the Dokdo Islet may send a strong message; the college students, however, can convey the message in a moderate way and also promote a young and positive corporate image.”

achim@donga.com