INTE Tour is a licensed inbound tour operator in South Korea, founded in 2013. We work exclusively with travel agents, organising tours throughout Korea.
Where did the name come from?
Actually, “Inte” arose as a cry of the soul.
We used to work at Vladivostok Air International. Every time we called a hotel and had to introduce ourselves to Korean managers, things went badly. Korean has no “V” sound; consonants don’t like standing next to each other without a vowel. “Vladivostok” became something like “Byladybosutokhu.” “Avia” became “Abia.” “International” — let’s not go there.
So when it came time to start our own company, inspired by unexpected freedom, we decided to invent a name easy for Russian, Korean, and international ears alike. Naively, we thought “Inte” would sound like “Inthe” — simple, memorable, no endless “Huh?”s from Korean colleagues.
How wrong we were. Now, in 90% of cases, when we say “Inte Tour calling,” we hear a sympathetic: “What? Interior? What kind of interior?”
The name is registered and has become a brand, more or less. Everyone wants to know what it means in some language. We always answered honestly: nothing. Not the answer anyone expects. Google finally helped: inte means “not” in Swedish.
I don’t know. Jag vet inte.
So it goes. — Kurt Vonnegut
INTE holds a Korean inbound tourism licence. Our team has worked in Korean travel for over 12 years, several with university-level Korean studies backgrounds. We operate licensed Russian- and English-speaking guides and use wireless guide systems on group tours.
We work through travel agents. If you’re an agent and considering Korea for your portfolio — get in touch.
26 Wolbae-ro 32-gil, Dalseo-gu, Daegu, South Korea · +82-2-922-1199 · inte@intetour.com