The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety are joining forces to address the crisis facing local regions. The two ministries aim to combine their tourism content planning capabilities with local financial and administrative support to create a powerful synergy.
On July 16, the ministries officially launched the 'Regional Tourism Policy Council' and held its first meeting at the Sejong Government Complex. The council will operate under a joint leadership structure and will adapt its participating organizations based on current issues, serving as a practical problem-solving platform.
This collaboration stems from a shared understanding that revitalizing tourism to attract visitors is the most immediate solution to stimulate stagnant local consumption and increase the resident population.
During the inaugural meeting, participants focused on sustainable strategies to generate ongoing local vitality beyond one-time visits. Ideas discussed included a community-driven tourism initiative that encourages residents to discover and manage local tourism resources, as well as measures to promote digital tourism identification cards to retain residents in areas facing population decline. Additionally, the ministries agreed to continuously identify collaborative projects, such as supporting tourism businesses linked to the social economy and facilitating cooperation between local public institutions and the Korea Tourism Organization.
The first collaborative initiative announced by the ministries is the 'Regional Tourism Innovation Idea Competition,' set to take place in the second half of this year. This competition, titled 'Rising Star of Korean Tourism,' aims to provide a platform for newly established local governments to actively plan tourism policies that highlight their unique regional attractions.
To support this effort, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will expand and reform the 'Korean Tourism Star' awards, which it has independently managed since 2010. The awards will now be co-hosted with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety to encourage participation from local governments and enhance benefits for exemplary cases.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety emphasized that attracting tourists to local areas is a key factor in revitalizing local businesses, and it plans to closely support local governments in implementing creative tourism initiatives with budgetary and administrative assistance.
“For the tourism industry to grow sustainably, we need a strong engine to shift the tourism landscape from a metropolitan-centric model to a regional focus,” said Kang Jeong-won, Director of the Tourism Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. “Through organic cooperation with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, we will quickly produce results that can be felt on the ground in local communities.”
* This article has been translated by AI.
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