Gwangju City to Operate Barrier-Free City Tour Exclusive Buses Next Year

Gwangju City Hall

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 14th that, as part of efforts to create a barrier-free tourism environment, it will purchase and operate one new dedicated Gwangju City Tour bus equipped with seats for the disabled in the first half of next year.

Gwangju City plans to prioritize the creation of a barrier-free tourism environment throughout the entire procurement process of the newly added dedicated bus, as the Gwangju City Tour bus, a representative urban tourism product that allows visitors to tour major tourist sites in the Gwangju area at once, has so far been difficult for transportation-vulnerable groups such as the disabled to access.

In addition, the new dedicated City Tour bus will incorporate a design unique to Gwangju, and efforts will be focused on enhancing the product value of the Gwangju City Tour bus as a tourism content by strengthening promotional marketing.

In particular, along with the purchase of the dedicated City Tour bus, from next year, the operation office of the Gwangju City Tour will be transferred to the Gwangju Tourism Foundation, a dedicated tourism organization newly launched in Gwangju, and plans are underway to pursue more innovative and creative promotional marketing strategies that break the existing framework.

Once the procurement process for the dedicated bus is completed in the first half of next year, the city plans to apply a design featuring Gwangju’s unique tourist resources to the city bus and develop it into a tourism icon as a ‘unique content’ that can only be seen in Gwangju.

To this end, in January next year, a ‘Gwangju City Tour Bus Procurement TF Team’ will be formed, consisting of citizens, experts, media, tourism organizations, as well as Gwangju City, the City Council, and the Gwangju Tourism Foundation, to decide on the type and form of the bus.

The ‘Gwangju City Tour Bus Procurement TF Team’ will discuss the feasibility of installing or modifying seats for the disabled, the promotional effectiveness of bus structures such as single-deck or double-deck open-top buses, and ease of maintenance.

To revitalize the City Tour bus, Gwangju City plans to operate a ‘City Tour Biennale Special Route’ during the 13th Gwangju Biennale held in February next year, and develop joint travel routes linking with Jeonnam’s ‘Namdo Hanbawi’ bus, focusing on attracting domestic and international tourists in preparation for the ‘post-COVID-19’ era.

Additionally, the city will promote both online and offline promotional events to widely publicize the Gwangju City Tour’s circular and themed routes, implement discount systems, and pursue internal and external promotional marketing strategies to enhance the image of existing routes and attract new tourists.

Meanwhile, the Gwangju City Tour bus currently operates a total of four buses on six routes divided into circular routes such as ▲Mudeungsan Geological Site Tour, Jeondang District Cultural Tourism Tour, Bitgoeul Namdo Tour, Experience Tourism Content Tour (reservation required), and themed routes such as ▲100 Years Bus and May Bus.

Kim Jun-young, Director of the Culture, Tourism and Sports Office of Gwangju City, said, “The additional operation of the dedicated Gwangju City Tour bus, prioritizing accessibility for transportation-vulnerable groups, is meaningful as it marks a step forward for Gwangju as a barrier-free tourism city,” and added, “We will strive to include more diverse content and actively promote it so that it can become a representative tourism icon of Gwangju.”

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