Jeonnam Provincial Assembly Member Minho Shin Calls for Promotion of "Smart Tourism"

“Customized Measures Needed, Including Jeonnam-Style Tourism”

Minho Shin, a member of the Jeonnam Provincial Assembly (Democratic Party of Korea, Suncheon 6), pointed out the seriousness of the regional extinction crisis during a recent briefing by the Tourism and Sports Bureau, and called for a fundamental shift in Jeonnam Province's tourism policy.

Shin particularly emphasized the importance of stay-type tourism and smart tourism, arguing that these approaches are necessary to attract population inflow and enhance the survival prospects of local communities.

Minho Shin, Jeonnam Provincial Assembly Member.

He warned, "The number of basic local governments at risk of extinction surged from 97 in 2019 to 130 in 2023," adding, "More than half of the total 226 basic local governments are now facing the risk of extinction." He further explained, "Among the 17 metropolitan governments, 8 have now reached the warning stage for extinction, and the concentration of population and resources in the Seoul metropolitan area is becoming even more severe."

He continued, "Although the Seoul metropolitan area accounts for only 11.8% of the national territory, it concentrates 50.3% of the population, 55.0% of the youth, 50.5% of the jobs, and 52.5% of the GRDP. In addition, 91% of the headquarters of the top 100 companies by sales are located in the metropolitan area. This reality threatens sustainability," demanding effective measures to ensure the sustainability of regions at risk of extinction.

As solutions to this crisis, Shin proposed "expanding the living population" and "revitalizing stay-type tourism." He explained that the living population includes not only the resident population but also the floating population who stay in the region for tourism, study, work, and other purposes. He noted that, since this year, the central government has begun to reflect the living population in the calculation of general grants, making it increasingly important to actively utilize this concept.

Shin also pointed out several limitations in Jeonnam Province's tourism policy, stating that "despite abundant resources, there are shortcomings such as lack of execution, absence of sustainable content marketing, insufficient interregional cooperation, and inadequate digital transformation." He presented five key tasks to address these issues.

The major tasks include: ▲ strengthening interregional cooperation systems ▲ enhancing digital and global marketing capabilities ▲ developing differentiated stay-type content ▲ fostering tourism professionals ▲ and establishing a sustainable tourism foundation.

He emphasized, "Other regions such as Busan and Gwangju have already begun creating smart tourism cities, but Jeonnam Province remains stuck with short-sighted and insufficient measures. An accurate diagnosis must precede the establishment of a Jeonnam-style smart tourism strategy."

In particular, Shin argued that Jeonnam Province must conduct a practical assessment of its tourism infrastructure accessibility, content diversity, and overseas marketing capabilities, and develop tailored strategies accordingly. He added, "It is urgent to establish a Jeonnam-style smart tourism strategy to transform the province's tourism industry."

Shin's remarks strongly reflect his determination that Jeonnam's tourism industry must develop sustainable and competitive strategies in line with rapidly changing trends, drawing attention to how the province's tourism policy will evolve in the future.

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