Gyeonggi-do Invests 777.4 Billion KRW in Tourism Projects Over 5 Years... 78 Projects

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province will invest 777.4 billion KRW by 2026 to promote 78 projects including the creation of a K-POP pilgrimage site, application for UNESCO World Heritage registration of the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone), and development of a blockchain model for tourism economic activities.

Gyeonggi Province announced on the 11th that it has established the "7th Gyeonggi Province Tourism Development Plan (2022~2026)" containing these details.

This 7th plan is based on the vision of "Tourism for All, Glocal (Global + Local) Tourism Gyeonggi" and consists of 14 strategic tasks and 78 projects under three main goals: ▲win-win tourism where people, culture, and regions grow together ▲sustainable tourism coexisting with future generations ▲smart innovative tourism pursuing new changes.

Unlike previous tourism development plans, the province expanded the target from being tourist-centered (outsiders) to a perspective shared by both tourists and residents, making residents both executors and beneficiaries of tourism development.

Also, rather than focusing solely on development projects, the plan seeks cooperative projects between regions and projects shared with residents to enhance execution power and significance.

In particular, it is characterized by expanding new tourism development opportunities through cooperation between adjacent cities and counties, moving away from point-based projects individually promoted by 31 cities and counties.

The budget required over five years, excluding private capital project costs, is 121.6 billion KRW in 2022, 205.9 billion KRW in 2023, 194.4 billion KRW in 2024, 148.2 billion KRW in 2025, and 107.3 billion KRW in 2026, totaling 777.4 billion KRW.

Looking at major projects by the three main goals, first, 35 projects will receive 340.1 billion KRW to promote "win-win tourism where people, culture, and regions grow together."

To activate win-win tourism, the province will link domestic World Cultural Heritage sites and establish regional tourism hubs along the West Coast Gyeonggi Sea. It will designate "photo points" (photo shooting spots) of K-POP singers such as BTS (Bangtan Sonyeondan) and regularly hold concerts to establish Gyeonggi Province as a K-POP pilgrimage site.

Additionally, various projects will be carried out, including discovering and supporting unique venues (distinctive meeting spots) centered on local areas, revitalizing cruise tourism aligned with the opening of Pyeongtaek and Dangjin international passenger terminals, regenerating aging tourist sites with local residents, and discovering and branding Gyeonggi-style Nopo (old shops).

The province will also invest 282.5 billion KRW over five years in "sustainable tourism coexisting with future generations."

Key projects include designating the DMZ as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve to enhance its environmental and ecological value and applying for UNESCO World Heritage registration. Furthermore, to ensure residents directly benefit from tourism development, support will be provided for workers’ vacation expenses, a resident travel support platform, and tourism discount passes to expand tourism opportunities.

Alongside this, the province will support "linked cooperative tourism development projects" where adjacent cities and counties connected linearly, such as National Road No. 1, Anyangcheon Stream, Hantan River, and circular trails, explore joint markets and linked product development.

As tourism businesses face crises due to COVID-19, the province will lead the growth of small and medium-sized tourism companies into global enterprises and strengthen the nurturing system for tourism startups.

Moreover, to pursue "smart innovative tourism seeking new changes," 12 projects will receive 154.8 billion KRW in support.

Separately from existing tourism statistics and market research data, the province will accumulate its own tourism data by utilizing data created by tourists themselves and promote the development of a blockchain model linked with NFT (non-fungible tokens), which has recently emerged as a new economic trend.

It will also build a digital industrial ecosystem in the tourism sector by connecting Gyeonggi tourism attractions through the metaverse (interactive virtual world) and create job opportunities through employment support projects linked with universities that have tourism-related departments. Plans are also underway to utilize foreign students from Southeast Asia and other regions as promoters and experts of Gyeonggi tourism.

To ensure smooth implementation of this comprehensive plan, the province will establish annual implementation plans (linked plans), build governance through collaboration among the public, private, and academic sectors, and make various efforts to secure annual budgets including national funds.

Choi Yong-hoon, head of the province’s Tourism Division, said, "As the environment surrounding Gyeonggi tourism is rapidly changing due to changes in tourist trends in the With-Corona era and the response to the digital transition period, active preparation is necessary. This plan is not a completed plan and will be operated flexibly to proactively respond to future changes."

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