The governments of Oita and Miyazaki prefectures and Kitakyushu city in Fukuoka Prefecture as well as the Kyushu District Transport Bureau held an event in Busan, South Korea, on Jan. 22 to promote tourism in the eastern Kyushu areas ahead of the scheduled opening in March of two sections on the Higashi-Kyushu Expressway, including one between the Buzen interchange in Buzen city, Fukuoka Prefecture, and the Usa interchange in Usa city, Oita Prefecture. A similar event was held in Seoul on Jan. 20.

According to the transport bureau, about 687,000 South Koreans visited Kyushu between January and October 2014, up about 17,000 from the same period the previous year. Visitors from the neighboring country are expected to grow further due to the yen's depreciation.

At the event, about 40 people, including tourism industry representatives from Kyushu, introduced local scenic areas and specialty goods to South Korean tour operators and other local participants. They also recommended tourist routes that use the Higashi-Kyushu Expressway.

"The eastern Kyushu area has a lot of hot springs and nature that are popular with South Korean people," said Makoto Inutsuka, an official of the transport bureau's international tourism section. "We hope the improvement in traffic accessibility will lead to an increase in guests."

With the opening of the two new sections, about 80 percent of the Higashi-Kyushu Expressway will be in service. The expressway covers a total distance of 436 kilometers connecting Kitakyushu with Aira city, Kagoshima Prefecture.

Source: The Nishinippon Shimbun Co., Ltd.