Gwangju Dong-gu Successfully Hosts Night Tourism Revitalization Forum in Culture Complex Area

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Dong-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City (Mayor Im Taek) successfully concluded the ‘2020 Cultural Center Area Night Tourism Revitalization Forum’ to explore ‘Dong-gu-style night tourism’ plans that combine tourism, culture and arts, and humanities in line with the post-COVID-19 era.

According to Dong-gu on the 19th, the forum held at 2 p.m. on the 15th in the large conference room of Dong-gu Office was held simultaneously online and offline with about 100 participants including experts, related organizations, tourism companies, and merchant associations.

To prevent the spread of COVID-19, the number of attendees was limited, and the event was conducted online with live streaming from the site.

This forum attracted great attention as it coincided with the timing of the Media Art Festival amid active movements to revitalize night tourism in Gwangju.

At the forum, innovative measures were sought to create new travel demand such as establishing a night tourism base and smart tourism ecosystem in the Cultural Center area and attracting domestic and international tourists through analysis and utilization cases of domestic and international night tourism and smart tourism.

Measures for the recovery of the tourism industry, which has been stagnant due to COVID-19, and revitalization of the local economy were also discussed.

In the first part of the forum, Professor Lee Hee-seung of Honam University, who gave a keynote presentation, advised, “In Dong-gu, where the National Asia Culture Center is located, it is necessary to form a night tourism brand by implementing 4th industrial technology called media art based on cultural content.”

Professor Shin Chun-sung of Chonnam National University emphasized, “Tourism big data information should be analyzed to continuously improve and develop tourism content and infrastructure,” adding, “Above all, we must move toward a smart tourism city centered on tourism content specialized in the region.”

In the second part of the forum, through case presentations of tourism venture companies, activation plans for ‘Gwangju-style night tourism’ were proposed, including ▲smart platforms ▲smart mobility ▲smart accommodation reservation platforms ▲activity night tourism using local creators, knowledge guide night tourism, and tourism AI technology utilization.

Along with this, a meaningful event was held where participants directly experienced commercialized smart tourism technologies such as QR electronic entry service (Next Story Co., Ltd.) and premium AI mobility service (Move Co., Ltd.).

Lee Young-geun, president of the Korea Smart Tourism Association, shared his thoughts, saying, “I want to emphasize the significance that through this forum, the meeting of Dong-gu’s local resources and smart tourism marks the first step to overcoming the with-COVID-19 era.”

Im Taek, mayor of Dong-gu, said, “In the post-COVID-19 era, night tourism based on AI 4th industrial and smart tourism technology will be a breakthrough for revitalizing the local economy,” adding, “We will continuously collaborate with tourism experts and related companies to activate night tourism that harmonizes tourism, culture and arts, and humanities reflecting Dong-gu’s characteristics.”

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