Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Selects 24 '2021 Tourism Ventures of the Year'

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on the 29th that it has selected 24 companies as the ‘2021 Tourism Ventures of the Year’ among venture companies chosen through the Tourism Venture Business Contest, recognizing those with outstanding business performance and contributions to job creation over the past year.

Since 2018, the Ministry and the Korea Tourism Organization have formed a professional evaluation panel to assess achievements such as job creation, sales, and contributions to the tourism industry, selecting the ‘Tourism Venture of the Year.’ This year, to promote ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) in tourism companies, they newly discovered excellent companies in areas such as eco-friendliness, social responsibility management, and governance improvement by evaluating potential for industry-wide expansion, concrete performance outcomes, and sustainability.

The companies selected this year achieved remarkable results by turning crises into opportunities, such as finding new business models like non-face-to-face tourism products and services amid the adverse conditions of COVID-19 or proactively preparing for the post-pandemic era. The top three companies in corporate growth, job creation, and early-stage tourism ventures will receive awards from the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

In the ‘Corporate Growth’ category of growth tourism ventures, NextStory was selected as the top company for outstanding financial performance, including increased sales over the past year. NextStory provides services that allow travelers to enjoy on-site experiences such as interactive stamp-collecting tours using technologies like mobile GPS and augmented reality (AR). Additionally, by offering smart tourism platforms and integrated information system (ERP) construction services to local governments and regional tourism organizations (RTOs), it contributed to revitalizing regional tourism, resulting in a 174% increase in sales compared to the previous year.

In the ‘Job Creation’ category of growth tourism ventures, RoadSystem was selected as the top company for excellent employment-related achievements. RoadSystem provides smartphone-based convenience services targeting foreigners, such as the mobile passport service ‘WeChat.’

In the ‘Newcomer’ category of growth tourism ventures, newly selected companies this year include TableManager (top award) and Visit (excellence award). In the ‘Graduated’ category, companies whose growth tourism venture status expired this year include YachtTallae (top award) and Nua (excellence award).

In the early-stage tourism venture category, Nature Mobility was selected as the top company. Nature Mobility operates a platform that allows free travelers to search and book transportation options such as rental cars, airline tickets, car sharing, tourist taxis, and kickboards.

In the newly established ESG category this year, Haenyeo’s Kitchen was selected as the top company. Haenyeo’s Kitchen operates a community-based tourism product that revitalizes abandoned haenyeo (female diver) idle spaces and offers performances and meals reflecting the lives of haenyeo.

A Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism official stated, “Although the domestic tourism industry faced a difficult year due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, many tourism venture companies led change and prepared for the post-pandemic era, achieving meaningful results despite the crisis. Next year, we will lead new changes in the tourism industry by promoting collaboration among companies and activating exchanges with various stakeholders.”

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