Tourism Organization to Expand 'Digital Tourist Resident Card' Initiative..."Revitalizing Depopulated Areas"

Pyeongchang and Okcheon Followed by 9 More Sites Including Geochang and Sinan Selected This Year
Discount Benefits When Visiting Regions, Over 47,000 Cumulative Issuances

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization announced on the 9th that they will expand the 'Digital Tourism Resident Card' to increase interest in depopulated areas and revitalize local economies through tourism.

Digital Tourist Resident Card Promotional Poster. The Digital Tourist Resident Card project was piloted in two regions last year. This year, it will be significantly expanded to 11 regions.
[Photo by Korea Tourism Organization]

The 'Digital Tourism Resident Card' is a system where users can receive a type of honorary resident card through the 'Korea Travel Easy' mobile app and use a QR code to enjoy discounts on various travel convenience facilities and experience programs, including admission tickets to local tourist attractions, accommodation, food and beverage, and activities within the region.

The Digital Tourism Resident Card project was piloted last year in two regions. This year, it will be significantly expanded to 11 regions.

Following the pilot regions of Pyeongchang County in Gangwon Province and Okcheon County in Chungbuk Province last year, this year the program will be newly implemented in nine local governments: ▲Ganghwa County in Incheon ▲Jeongseon County in Gangwon ▲Danyang County in Chungbuk ▲Taean County in Chungnam ▲Gochang County in Jeonbuk ▲Shinan County in Jeonnam ▲Goryeong County in Gyeongbuk ▲Geochang County in Gyeongnam ▲Yeongdo District in Busan.

The Korea Tourism Organization plans to complete the Digital Tourism Resident Card issuance system for the newly selected regions in the first half of the year and officially launch the service.

As a result of the pilot project, from October last year to February this year, in just five months, the number of Digital Tourism Resident Card holders in Pyeongchang County, Gangwon Province, and Okcheon County, Chungbuk Province reached approximately 47,000, accounting for 52% of the resident population in the two regions.

Additionally, among the cardholders, there were about 7,900 cases where visitors used discount benefits in the respective regions, indicating that the Digital Tourism Resident Card is effective in encouraging visits and tourism consumption in the areas.

Kim Young-mi, Director of National Marketing at the Korea Tourism Organization, stated, “The Digital Tourism Resident Card naturally forms a bond between the region and visitors, increasing the living population in depopulated areas at risk of extinction through local tourism, revitalizing the local economy, and we expect to further expand the program next year.”

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