Yeongam County Selected for Regional Love Vacation Pilot Project

50% Refund on Travel Expenses
Promoting Tourism and Revitalizing the Local Economy

Wangin Culture Festival Parade Performance at the Yeongam Representative Festival. Courtesy of Yeongam County

Yeongam County in South Jeolla Province has been finally selected for the "2026 Regional Love Vacation Support Pilot Project," hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization.

This project is a policy designed to both revitalize local tourism and expand regional economic consumption by refunding 50% of travel expenses in the form of mobile regional currency to tourists who visit rural or fishing communities experiencing population decline.

Under the pilot project, tourists visiting Yeongam County will receive a 50% refund of expenses spent at tourism-related businesses such as accommodations, food and beverage, and experiential activities, through the regional currency "Wolchul Pay."

However, in consideration of the project's aim to support long-distance tourists, residents of Mokpo City, Naju City, and Gangjin, Haenam, Muan, and Hwasun Counties, which border Yeongam, are excluded from eligibility.

After applying in advance, tourists who spend at least 100,000 won per person during the designated period can receive a refund of up to 100,000 won. If two or more people travel together, up to 400,000 won in expenses can be recognized. The refunded Wolchul Pay can be used at local partner stores or on the online Yeongam Mall until the end of this year.

Yeongam County plans to begin the pilot project in April, coinciding with the "2026 Yeongam Wangin Cultural Festival," after signing an agreement with the Korea Tourism Organization and completing the subsidy allocation process.

The county also intends to link this pilot project with the ongoing "Yeongam Travel One Plus One" tourism incentive program that began last year, aiming to further enhance the effect of expanding local tourism consumption.

Woo Seunghee, the Governor of Yeongam County, stated, "The core of Yeongam's tourism policy is to create a circular economy structure in which visitors stay in the region, spend money, and that spending flows back into the local economy. Through this pilot project, we aim to simultaneously boost both tourism and the regional economy."

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