Incheon Gaehangjang Transforms into Korea's First Smart Tourism Destination

Install the 'Incheon eJi' App to Experience Immersive Content and Use Reservation and Payment Services

'Incheon Open Port Cultural Heritage Night Tour' held at the intersection in front of Incheon Jung-gu Office [Photo provided by Incheon Tourism Organization]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] The Incheon Open Port area is being transformed into the country's first smart tourism destination. Visitors can enjoy the appearance of the Open Port area from over 100 years ago through AR (Augmented Reality) and VR (Virtual Reality) immersive content.

On the 30th, Incheon City held an online launch ceremony for the 'Incheon Smart Tourism City' and officially began providing smart tourism services.

The online launch ceremony, attended by Hwang Hee, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism; Park Namchun, Mayor of Incheon; Ahn Youngbae, President of the Korea Tourism Organization; and Min Minhong, President of the Incheon Tourism Organization, was available for about 30 minutes from 2 PM via the Incheon Tourism Organization's YouTube channel (Incheon Travel Market).

The Incheon Open Port Smart Tourism City offers AI-based personalized travel services to tourists through the 'Incheon e-ji' app.

Tourists can view the streets as they appeared 100 years ago at their current location through AR and VR immersive content, and can also use the public Wi-Fi established throughout the Open Port area free of charge.

Additionally, visitors can explore the Open Port area following customized travel routes recommended according to their personal travel preferences and tastes.

Moreover, reservations and payments for tourist transportation such as the Incheon City Tour, the sea train to Wolmido, and the Open Port story bicycle, as well as luggage storage payments, translation, and post-tax refund services, can all be accessed via smartphone.

The Incheon e-ji app is available for download on the Android Play Store and Apple App Store.

The city also provides multilingual services, contactless ordering, and text chat services for foreign tourists, enabling visitors from various countries to enjoy smart tourism services without inconvenience.

In particular, targeting Chinese tourists, Incheon has collaborated with Tencent, the largest IT company in China, to launch the WeChat mini-program 'Dosihangrang,' the first of its kind in Asia.

Since being selected as the pilot site for the country's first smart tourism city project by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in September last year, Incheon City has been promoting the establishment of a smart tourism city platform in the Open Port area in partnership with Incheon Smart City Co., Ltd. and nine other private consortia.

An official from Incheon City stated, "It is very meaningful that Incheon is officially launching as the country's first smart tourism city in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and digital transformation. We will strive to enhance convenience for domestic and international tourists centered on the smart tourism platform (Incheon e-ji)."

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