Shall We Go on a 'Drive-Through' Trip This Winter?

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] As interest in non-face-to-face safe travel has increased socially due to COVID-19, D.I.T (Drive In & Thru) travel has emerged as a new trend.

D.I.T. travel is a 'drive-thru' style trip where travelers enjoy activities such as car camping, car picnics (car-cknic), watching performances, and dining while minimizing contact with the outside world by staying in their cars. The Korea Tourism Organization is also promoting and providing various information to support car travel through the domestic travel website ‘Korea Travel Easy’ and its YouTube channel to spread a culture of safe travel.

The Korea Travel Easy website offers information on car travel courses across the country. Under the theme ‘Four Seasons, Four Colors Journey,’ it recommends travel courses by season. For winter driving routes, it suggests Hambaeksan Manhangjae in Jeongseon, Gangwon Province, and Cheonsuman Coastal Road in Hongseong, Chungnam Province. The ‘Coastal Road Drive’ theme, which features drives along the sea, introduces a total of 11 romantic courses including Nam-myeon Coastal Road in Namhae, Gyeongnam Province, and Anmyeondo Coastal Road in Taean, Chungnam Province. Additionally, visitors can find diverse information such as routes along national highways, island routes, and stargazing travel courses.

With the rapid increase in the car camping population, various safety accidents as well as illegal parking and unauthorized garbage dumping have become issues. The Korea Tourism Organization provides safe travel guidelines and car camping checklists to promote the spread of a proper and safe car travel culture and improve awareness. For beginners in car camping and car picnics, it is recommended to enjoy the car camping tips and camping site usage rules introduced on the organization’s YouTube channel. The website GoCamping, which provides information on registered campsites nationwide, is also worth consulting.

Meanwhile, since November, when the quarantine system was shifted, the Korea Tourism Organization has been conducting an online event to promote car travel and improve public awareness. The event runs on the Korea Travel Easy website until December 5, and participants can take part in a survey on the actual status of car travel, watch ‘Camping & Car Camping Tips’ videos, solve quizzes, and leave comments for a chance to win various prizes through a lottery.

Hwang Geon-hyeok, head of the National Tourism Strategy Team at the Korea Tourism Organization, stated, “With the transition to With Corona, pent-up travel demand is surging. We will continue to promote D.I.T. travel as a non-face-to-face safe travel model.”

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