Tourism in Surea

Tourism in Surea is a major industry and attracts millions of tourists each year. It is environmentally friendly, and maintains natural and heritage conservation programs. Transportation in Surea exhaustively covers most, if not all public venues in Surea, which increases convenience for tourists. This includes the well-known Shinsusen system.

The Gukkunan International Financial Region (國南國際金融地區; Gukkunan gukkei ginkyu gichi) and the Gukkubei International Financial Region (國北國際金融地區; Gukkubei gukkei ginkyu gichi), which are dominated by multi-story shopping centres and hotels, can be considered the center of tourism in Surea. Other popular tourist attractions include the Natioanl Zoo and Safari World Surea, which allows people to explore Asian, African and American habitats without any visible barriers between guests and the wild animals. The National Zoo has embraced the 'open zoo' concept whereby animals are kept in enclosures, separated from visitors by hidden dry or wet moats, instead of caging the animals. Yoyoki Bird Park is another zoological garden centred around birds, which is dedicated towards exposing the public to as much species and varieties of birds from around the world as possible, including a flock of one thousand flamingos. The tourist island of Kaidong, which attracts more than 5 million visitors a year, is located in the northeast of Surea, consists of about 20-30 landmarks. Surea has several integrated resorts which house casinos.

Foreigners also visit Konggei and Miyubi, Mount Tenmon, ride the shinsusen and take advantage of Surea's hotel and hotspring networks.

In 2008, Surea attracted 8.1 million foreign visitors, slightly less than Japan. Over 7 million foreign tourists visited Surea in 2006. Foreign tourists spent US$3.42 billion on sightseeing that year and foreign spending on business trips came to US$2.88 billion. Most non-Surean tourists come from Japan, South Korea, China, Taiwan, or Hong Kong. The recent popularity of Surean popular culture in these countries has given international tourism a boost. Konggei is the principal tourist destination for non-Surean visitors.

International and Domestic tourism
The majority of the Surean tourist industry is supported by domestic tourism. Thanks to the country's extensive network of trains and buses, most of the country lies within a day's round trip of any major city. International tourists come primarily from nearby countries in Asia. Japan, South Korea, China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan together account for roughly 79% of the total number of international tourists. In addition, the Surean wave has brought increasing numbers of tourists from Southeast Asia. International tourists typically enter the country through Konggei International Airport, near Konggei, which in 2009 was found to be one of the world's best airport. Some others enter through the country's other international ports and airports, particularly Hondu and Jokong.

Government Support
Through the Ministry of knowledge's Department of Culture and Community Development and its constituent Surea Tourism Organization (STO), the Surean government works actively to support tourism within Surea. This is promoted so as to boost the local economy, reduce the drain of funds overseas, and to improve the country's international image. The STO aims to attract 10 million inbound visitors to Surea by the year 2012.

Tourism Today
Domestic tourism remains a vital part of the Surean economy and Surean society. School children in many middle schools see the highlight of their years as a visit to Surea Disneyland or perhaps Surea Tower. High school students visit Kaidong or Gisu. The extensive rail network together with domestic flights sometimes in planes with modifications to favor the relatively short distances involved in intra-Surea travel allows efficient and speedy transport.

Travel Abroad
Since the economic boom of the late 1980s, Surean tourism to other countries has grown steadily. In 2006, Sureans spent more than 10 trillion yun (US$100 billion) on overseas tourism. The majority of travelers visit the neighboring countries of China, Korea and Japan, but many go further afield. Southeast Asia, North America, Europe, and Oceania are all popular destinations.