Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Announces '4th Basic Tourism Development Plan' Presenting Future Vision for Tourism Development Over the Next 10 Years

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on the 30th that it has finalized the "4th Basic Plan for Tourism Development (2022?2031)" to efficiently develop and manage tourism resources.

The Basic Plan for Tourism Development is the highest-level plan in the tourism development sector that presents the desirable future vision for tourism development over the next 10 years. It is established in accordance with Article 49 of the Tourism Promotion Act. With the expiration of the 3rd Basic Plan period (2012?2021), the newly established 4th Basic Plan shifted the policy direction from a supplier (developer)-centered approach to a demand (tourist)-centered approach, and from focusing solely on the development of tourism resources to balancing development and utilization.

Additionally, communication opportunities with various tourism stakeholders were expanded through the operation of a national participation website, a youth participation group, and the collection of opinions from government ministries and local governments. Consistency with other government plans in different sectors was also enhanced through national land planning evaluations and strategic environmental impact assessments.

According to the Ministry’s analysis of tourism conditions and trends, travel demand is expected to increase, and the influence of online platforms based on information and communication technology (ICT), such as online travel agencies (OTA), will grow. The importance of job creation through tourism revitalization has increased, indicating a need for structural changes in regional tourism to align with the evolving tourism trends.

Accordingly, this Basic Plan sets the vision of "Tourism Korea Opening the Future, Happy People through Tourism" and establishes goals of "Win-win Tourism with People and Regions Growing Together," "Smart Innovative Tourism Pursuing Quality Development," and "Sustainable Tourism Coexisting with Future Generations."

Specific measures include six major strategies and 17 key tasks: ▲ Discovering attractive tourism resources ▲ Realizing the value of sustainable tourism development ▲ Expanding convenient tourism infrastructure ▲ Building a healthy tourism industry ecosystem ▲ Strengthening multidimensional tourism linkage and cooperation ▲ Establishing innovative institutional and management foundations.

Furthermore, to enhance the international competitiveness of regional tourism and to disperse foreign tourists concentrated in the metropolitan area to local regions, the plan distinguishes between the mature tourism regions of the metropolitan area, Gangwon, and Jeju, and the other four regions as tourism growth areas, presenting customized development strategies for each region.

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hwang Hee stated, "Once COVID-19 ends and tourism activities fully resume, the tourism sector, which has faced many difficulties, will regain vitality. I hope that people will find comfort through tourism and that the achievements of tourism development will contribute to job creation and income growth in local communities."

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