‘2020 Haenam-euro Gaja’ Excitement from the Start of Haenam Visit Year

Tourists During Lunar New Year Holiday Double Compared to Last Year

Haenam Dinosaur Museum saw more than double the number of tourists during the Lunar New Year holiday period, marking a smooth start. (Photo by Haenam-gun)

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Seo Young-seo] Haenam-gun, Jeollanam-do, announced on the 29th that as the '2020 Haenam Visit Year' welcomes tourists, the number of tourists during the Lunar New Year holiday period more than doubled, showing a smooth start.

According to the survey of visits to six military-operated tourist sites during the Lunar New Year holiday from the 24th to the 27th, a total of 35,476 people visited.

This is an increase of 18,563 people compared to last year's 16,913, showing a growth rate of more than double.

In particular, the Dinosaur Museum, where busking performances, the Big Man Show featuring giant moving puppets, and special magic face-changing performances were held, attracted 15,366 visitors, about three times more than last year's 5,000 visitors. At Ttangkkeut Observatory and Usuyeong, free traditional game experiences were offered along with performances such as Pansori and Namdo folk songs, attracting 10,261 and 5,370 visitors respectively.

This is interpreted as a result of the free opening of military-operated tourist sites during the holiday period to commemorate the Haenam Visit Year, and the operation of various programs that families can enjoy, which drew a lot of positive response.

In particular, by opening tourist sites free of charge throughout the holiday period instead of only on Lunar New Year’s Day last year, an opportunity was created for tourists nationwide to visit Haenam. At the same time as the declaration of the Haenam Visit Year, all administrative power was mobilized to discover linked projects and promote the influx of tourists, which proved effective in attracting tourists to Haenam from the beginning of the year.

Haenam-gun is focusing administrative efforts on welcoming tourists by early confirming the annual festival and event schedule and discovering linked projects with the goal of opening the era of 4 million tourists in the 'Haenam Visit Year.'

Starting with the Dalma Trail Walking Festival in February and followed by 25 festivals and events including the Ttangkkeut Maehwa Festival in March, the Dinosaur Grand Festival will be newly held in May targeting family tourists, and the Songho Beach Festival, which will offer the romance of Haenam’s summer sea, will also be introduced for the first time.

Along with this, the county is actively creating a 'Haenam Visit Year' boom together with the public and private sectors by conducting mass garbage collection, cleaning the entire national road sections, and providing hospitality training for food and lodging businesses.

County Governor Myeong Hyun-gwan said, “To steadily promote the 2020 Haenam Visit Year, we are implementing various incentives such as welcoming tourists and operating special programs at each tourist site,” adding, “As the Visit Year begins and the increase in tourists is noticeable, we will focus on making Haenam a place where tourists can visit all year round.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.