Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Korea Tourism Organization Select 30 Tourism Dure Resident Enterprises in 2023

Including 9 Youth Businesses, a Total of 30 Locations in Accommodation and Experience Sectors

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization announced on the 30th that they have selected 30 new resident enterprises for the '2023 Tourism Dure' program.

Tourism Dure BI
Photo by Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism

Tourism Dure is a policy project that supports local residents in starting and operating tourism businesses with unique regional characteristics in areas such as accommodation, food and beverage, souvenirs, local travel, and experiences.

The Korea Tourism Organization conducted a selection process from April 3 to 27, targeting 27 basic local governments. They evaluated 100 resident enterprises that applied through document review, online education, on-site inspection, and presentation evaluation to make the final selection.

Since its launch in 2013, the project has supported the development of 309 resident enterprises in 59 basic local governments as of June this year.

Among the 30 newly selected Tourism Dure resident enterprises, the breakdown by sector is 8 experience businesses (27%), 7 souvenir businesses (23%), 7 food and beverage businesses (23%), 6 travel businesses (20%), and 2 accommodation businesses (7%). By region, there are 3 in the metropolitan area, 3 in the Chungcheong region, 6 in the Honam region, and 18 in the Yeongnam region.

The newly selected resident enterprises will receive customized support including education, field trips, consultations, pilot projects, and legal and tax services within a maximum funding limit of 110 million KRW over up to five years. Additionally, depending on their business conditions, they can access tailored programs according to their growth stage (preliminary, initial, growth).

For resident enterprises in the growth stage, dedicated consultations, investor relations (IR) guidance, demonstrations, and other business development programs will be provided to strengthen competitiveness.

This year’s selected companies in Busan include ▲Hug In Tour (travel), ▲Bongrae-gwan (experience), ▲Gamcheon Upcycling (souvenirs), ▲Gamcheon Kkol Community (souvenirs), ▲Saha Eco & Glocal (food and beverage), and ▲Rainbow Connection (experience). In Ulsan, ▲Rayhop (food and beverage) was selected.

In Gwangju, ▲Gwangju Hipster (souvenirs) was selected, and in Incheon, ▲Babbit Store (souvenirs) and ▲Michuhol Lamp (souvenirs) were chosen.

In Gyeonggi, ▲Joan Olrae Tour (travel) was selected; in Chungbuk, ▲Boeun Brewery (food and beverage) and ▲Dandelion Hanok Village Cooperative (experience); and in Chungnam, ▲Buyeo Gourmet Salon (food and beverage) were selected.

In Jeonnam, ▲Baekryeon Culture Center Agricultural Cooperative Corporation (travel), ▲Jihailcheung Laboratory (souvenirs), ▲Lampy (food and beverage), ▲The Days My Soul Was Warm (experience), and ▲Hwasun Rural Experience School (experience) were selected.

In Gyeongbuk, ▲Haedeun Garden (experience), ▲Gaya Blooming Cafe (food and beverage), ▲Youth Cooperative Byeolbitgoeun (travel), ▲Byuleseo ON (food and beverage), ▲Yeongyang Leather Workshop (souvenirs), ▲PLAY:Y (Stay and Play in Yeongyang) (accommodation), ▲Sinbaram Chilgok (漆谷) Chilgok (七曲) (travel), ▲Haksugodae Cooperative (experience), ▲Honeybee (experience), and ▲Nakhwadam Cooperative (accommodation) were selected. In Gyeongnam, ▲Everyone’s Travel (travel) was selected.

Among the selected enterprises, 9 resident businesses with more than two-thirds of their members aged 39 or younger were chosen, accounting for 30% of the total 30.

Kim Sang-wook, Director of Tourism Industry Policy at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, stated, "We will provide well-structured support so that the brilliant ideas of the newly selected resident enterprises can lead to startups that drive regional tourism."

Park Yoon-sook, Head of the Tourism Enterprise Support Office at the Korea Tourism Organization, said, "We will strive to nurture the resident enterprises selected through a rigorous screening process to grow into sustainable tourism businesses that contribute to regional economic and tourism revitalization through systematic support from the Tourism Dure project."

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