1112km Across Gangwon-do in 7 Routes... Korea's First 'Tourism Road' Created

Gangwon-do 'Figure-8 Shape' Tourist Road Development
Overnight Stay Set to 1 Night 2 Days by Section

[Asia Economy Reporter Ra Young-cheol] A 'Gangwon Tourism Road (1112km)' that travels through every corner of Gangwon Province along the roads is being established.

This is the first domestic tourism road connecting 18 cities and counties in Gangwon Province into 7 courses, allowing visitors to explore the excellent scenery and unique cultural assets throughout Gangwon Province.

In particular, since each section passes through major cities, tourists can conveniently use accommodations, restaurants, and other facilities.

On the 14th, Gangwon Province stated, "Gangwon Province, Wonju Regional Construction and Management Administration, and the Korea Tourism Organization will encourage tourists to visit every corner of Gangwon Province along national and local roads to revitalize the local economy."

This plan was inspired by the successful tourism road projects in countries such as Norway, Switzerland, and Japan, which have attracted domestic and international tourists to various local areas.

Gangwon Province, Wonju Regional Construction and Management Administration, and the Korea Tourism Organization have decided to fully focus on selling tourism road products by simultaneously promoting branding, publicity, sales, and scenic improvement projects for the 'Gangwon Tourism Road' starting this year.

◆ Integrated Branding, Publicity, and Sales to Attract Tourists

To stimulate tourists' desire to visit, they plan to develop names, logos, and fonts linked to Gangwon's culture, history, natural scenery, and tourism content.

They will create design guidelines for promotional materials and signboards to visually imprint the tourism road on tourists and increase brand awareness.

They will also produce emotional and informational content such as videos and photos to allow tourists to indirectly experience the value of the tourism road and conduct both online and offline promotions.

Planned exhibitions will focus on attractive elements of the tourism road (scenery, design, observatories, etc.), and joint promotions with private companies such as automobile and car-sharing businesses will be pursued.

Additionally, unique sales strategies such as 'Mission Tours,' 'Tourism Taxi Events,' and 'Tourism Road PASS' will be implemented to sell the tourism road directly to consumers.

◆ Creation of Tourism Content

In line with the trend of self-directed, small-scale, and individual tourism preferences for 'my own travel destination,' they plan to discover local unique stories and develop products linking stories with tourism resources.

Furthermore, to encourage participation from small groups or families rather than traditional group tours, they will downsize group programs through incentive support.

They have also prepared measures to expand tourists' experience opportunities and extend local stays by replacing closed days with less busy days such as Wednesdays.

◆ Utilization of Scenic and Experiential Resources

They plan to maintain and remove road facilities such as guardrails and rockfall prevention measures that obstruct scenery within the tourism road sections, as well as illegal advertisements and unauthorized deposits, or cover them by planting trees.

Individual signboards, bus stops, and streetlights will be given 'public facility designs' reflecting local values, and design observatories, artworks, and photo spots will be installed on vacant lots at major scenic points.

The plan is to make the journey itself a purpose of travel and create scenic drive sections that provide additional enjoyment while driving by applying design guidelines during facility installation to prevent landscape damage caused by the facilities.

◆ Establishment of Tourism Hubs by Section

Smart complex rest areas serving as tourism hubs for communication between tourists and local residents will be installed in the 7 sections of the tourism road to provide information on local attractions, food, and entertainment.

In particular, the tourism road will be developed not just as a road passing through the region but as a project that tells the stories of the area and connects locals with visitors.

They also plan to sell 'Tourism Road Snack Boxes' packaged with local representative foods in tourism road signature design boxes and 'Tourism Road PASS' that allows affordable access to major tourist sites, encouraging tourists to visit essential spots.

The site for the 'No. 1 Smart Complex Rest Area' has been selected in Nam-myeon, Inje County, and based on the design finalized through a design competition, it is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year.

This year, they will select additional 'Smart Complex Rest Area' sites through local government competitions and plan to build spaces that ensure convenience and safety for tourists visiting the tourism road in collaboration with local communities.

Choi Moon-soon, Governor of Gangwon Province, said, "The Gangwon Tourism Road, developed as a purpose-driven tourism resource by linking the province's excellent natural scenery with local history and cultural heritage, is expected to bring great vitality to the stagnant local economy and Gangwon's tourism industry."

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