The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is set to create a 'tourism zone' that connects nearby tourist cities centered around regional international airports. The initiative aims to expand the movement of foreign tourists, currently concentrated in the metropolitan area, to local regions, thereby increasing their length of stay and spending.
On July 30, the ministry announced it will conduct a demand survey targeting metropolitan local governments until August 14 to select sites for the tourism zone development project. The ministry plans to finalize the target sites within this year and establish a detailed implementation plan, with concentrated support planned from 2027 to 2030.
The tourism zone project is designed to connect multiple regions into a single tourism area based on the actual travel routes of foreign tourists, rather than administrative boundaries. The focus is on creating new travel routes that link surrounding tourist resources to gateway cities with regional international airports, such as Gimhae, Daegu, Cheongju, Muan, and Yangyang.
The ministry has determined that the previous approach of attracting foreign tourists on a regional basis has limitations in addressing the concentration of visitors in the metropolitan area. Therefore, it has designed policies to expand local stay-type tourism by integrating airports, transportation networks, and tourism content.
Selected tourism zones will receive financial support, regulatory exemptions, and assistance with artificial intelligence (AI) pilot projects. The goal is to reduce inconveniences throughout the travel process, from the initial awareness of the region to entry, transportation, accommodation, and experiences, thereby enhancing local tourism competitiveness.
A tourism zone selection committee composed of private experts will determine the target sites. The committee will comprehensively review proposals submitted by metropolitan local governments, along with data on the movement of inbound tourists and their stay and spending characteristics, to select tourism zones for each regional international airport.
On the same day, the ministry held a briefing at the Government Sejong Center for metropolitan local governments to explain the project direction and the demand survey process.
“It is important to create an environment where foreign tourists can enjoy diverse travel experiences beyond the metropolitan area,” said Kang Jeong-won, head of the ministry's tourism policy division. “We will work with local governments to discover competitive tourism zones and establish a foundation for the growth of local tourism.”
* This article has been translated by AI.
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