Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Selects 20 Sites Including Incheon Open Port for '2022 Open Tourism Site Development Project'

Major tourist attractions in the 8 travel regions selected as 'Open Tourist Destinations of 2022'.

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on the 14th that it has selected 20 tourist sites across 8 tourism zones as support targets for the ‘2022 Open Tourism Site Development Project.’

The ‘Open Tourism Site Development Project’ was introduced to eliminate inconveniences faced by mobility-vulnerable groups such as people with disabilities, the elderly, families with infants and toddlers, and pregnant women when using tourist sites. The project aims to make tourism activities easier and more convenient for all citizens by developing experiential tourism content at each site, providing barrier-free tourism information online and offline, and offering education to improve awareness of barrier-free tourism.

In particular, this year’s ‘2022 Open Tourism Site’ contest schedule was advanced to ensure sufficient time and local government funds for the renovation and maintenance of tourist sites, enabling the projects to be carried out within the designated period. Among 15 local governments (42 tourist sites) that applied, 20 tourist sites across 8 tourism zones were finally selected through the first document screening and the second on-site evaluation.

The selected tourist sites will finalize detailed improvement plans through customized on-site consulting by experts, then renovate and maintain key tourism facilities, walkways, and convenience facilities, and develop experiential tourism content. Additionally, to promote open tourism sites and expand travel opportunities for vulnerable groups, a ‘Sharing Travel’ program will be conducted, allowing vulnerable groups to travel to completed open tourism sites. Education on barrier-free tourism will also be provided for tourism workers and local government officials.

A Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism official stated, “We are also building a separate integrated barrier-free tourism information website where people can easily check barrier-free tourism information such as the installation of restrooms for people with disabilities and wheelchair rental availability at major tourist sites nationwide.” He added, “We will continue to cooperate with local governments and the private sector to create not only tourism facilities but also the overall environment so that all citizens can travel conveniently and safely.”

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