Wando Cheongsando Slow Road and Sinji Myeongsashipri Selected as 'Safe Tourist Destinations'

Published 31 May.2022 17:32(KST)

Cheongsan Slow Road Selected for 2 Consecutive Years, Sinji Myeongsasimni Newly Added

Wando Cheongsando Slow Road and Sinji Myeongsashipri Selected as 'Safe Tourist Destinations'

[Wando＝Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Kyung-pil] Cheongsando Slow Road and Sinji Myeongsashilli Beach in Wando, Jeollanam-do, have been selected as ‘2022 Safe Tourist Destinations’ organized by the Korea Tourism Organization.

According to the county on the 31st, the Korea Tourism Organization is promoting the ‘Safe Travel Campaign’ to revitalize domestic travel, and selects ‘Safe Tourist Destinations’ by evaluating the attractiveness of tourism resources, accessibility, eco-friendliness, and safety management.

Cheongsando Slow Road was selected for the second consecutive year following last year, and Sinji Myeongsashilli Beach was newly named this year.

Cheongsando was designated as Asia’s first Slow City in 2007, and the Cheongsando Slow Road was named because walking while enjoying the beautiful scenery of Cheongsando, where the mountains, sea, and sky are all blue, naturally slows down your pace.

The Slow Road stretches a total of 42.195 km and was designated as the first ‘World Slow Road’ officially certified by the International Slow City Federation in 2011.

In April, the Cheongsando Slow Walking Festival was held for the first time in three years.

This year’s festival was held both online and offline to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and it was estimated that a total of about 40,090 people visited Cheongsando.

Sinji Myeongsashilli Beach boasts fine sand stretching 3.8 km and clean water quality, and is rich in oxygen anions called air vitamins, making it one of the best resorts on the southern coast, bustling with many tourists every summer.

It was the first in Korea to acquire the ‘Blue Flag,’ an international certification awarded to eco-friendly and safe beaches, and has maintained its reputation as a clean beach by receiving re-certification for four consecutive years up to this year.

In particular, as the main stage of the county’s key marine healing project, since 2018, the county has been operating a ‘Marine Healing Program’ that uses marine climate, sea breeze, seawater, mudflats, and seaweed in the clean nature to promote mental and physical healing and health.

Meanwhile, Sinji Myeongsashilli Beach was selected as an ‘Excellent Beach’ in the ‘2020 National Beach Operation’ evaluation conducted by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries in 2020 for its response to COVID-19 and other factors.

A county official said, “Not only Cheongsando Slow Road and Sinji Myeongsashilli but Wando also has various tourism resources such as islands, sea, and forests,” and added, “As travel demand is recently increasing, we hope Wando tourism can return to pre-COVID-19 levels and revitalize the region.”