Jeju Olle Trail and Santiago Pilgrimage Route to Have Symbolic Sections Created

Korea-Spain Tourism Industry Roundtable and Tourism Ministers' Meeting
Promotion of Various Cultural and Tourism Exchange Cooperation Projects Between the Two Countries

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hwang Hee is having a bilateral meeting with Maria Reyes Maroto, Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism of Spain, at Sant Pau Hospital in Barcelona, Spain on the 17th.

A mutual symbolic section will be established on specific segments (within 1 km) of the Jeju Olle Trail and the Santiago de Compostela Pilgrimage Route in Spain.

On the 17th, Hwang Hee, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, met with Mar?a Reyes Maroto, Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism of Spain, at the Sant Pau Hospital in Barcelona, Spain, and agreed to concretize this tourism exchange revitalization project. A working-level council will be formed soon to establish detailed implementation plans.

The Santiago de Compostela Pilgrimage Route originated as a space honoring Saint James, a disciple of Jesus, who is regarded as the patron saint of Spain. It stretches about 800 km from the southern French village of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to the northwestern Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela, where Saint James's remains were found. Designated as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site in 1993, it has gained popularity not only among believers but also among travelers worldwide. Alfonso Rueda Valenzuela, Vice President of the Galicia Regional Government, expressed willingness to cooperate, noting, "Among visitors to the Santiago Pilgrimage Route in 2019, Koreans were the second largest group."

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hwang Hee is having a bilateral meeting with Maria Reyes Maroto, Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism of Spain, at Sant Pau Hospital in Barcelona, Spain, on the 17th.

The meeting was arranged during President Moon Jae-in's visit to Spain. They jointly explored future tourism response strategies post-COVID-19 and discussed ways to revitalize tourism exchanges between the two countries. The ministers agreed to extend the "2020-2021 Korea-Spain Mutual Visit Year" by one year and signed a memorandum of understanding. The "Korea-Spain Mutual Visit Year" was designated in October 2019 when King Felipe VI of Spain visited Korea, commemorating the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Minister Hwang stated, "This extension will serve as an opportunity to actively promote various cultural and tourism exchange cooperation projects between the two countries, which had slowed due to COVID-19." Minister Maroto showed interest in Korea's smart technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, and immersive video, saying, "We hope to become strategic partners for the revitalization and resilience recovery of Spanish tourism."

Hwang Hee, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, is delivering the closing remarks at the Korea-Spain Tourism Industry Roundtable held at Sant Pau Hospital in Barcelona, Spain, on the 17th.

Woo Ki-hong, President of Korean Air, said, "We want to launch direct flights to Spain as soon as possible," adding, "It is not easy to specify the resumption date, but we expect to start with non-scheduled flights and then switch to scheduled flights."

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