Namhae Tourism and Culture Foundation Announces Leap as Policy Think Tank with Launch of 'NTCF Brief'

First Report Diagnoses Namhae Tourism Status
Presents Three Key Strategies for a Paradigm Shift

The Namhae Tourism and Culture Foundation in South Gyeongsang Province has launched the "Namhae Tourism and Culture Foundation Brief (NTCF Brief)" to supplement regional policy research functions and enhance the future competitiveness of Namhae County. The foundation also released its first research findings, titled "A Study on the Current State of Namhae Tourism and Response to a Paradigm Shift."

The publication of this policy brief was planned to address various issues facing the local community and to identify and propose effective policy alternatives for sustainable development.

Going beyond simple theoretical research, the goal is to contribute to improving the quality of life for local residents and advancing Namhae County through the establishment and implementation of rational and progressive policies.

[Photo by Namhae-gun] Panoramic View of Namhae Cultural Foundation

In addition, to make it easy and accessible for everyone, the brief adopts a format that condenses only the core content, departing from the traditional bulky report style. This significantly improves the readability and popular usability of policy research.

This inaugural study analyzes global tourism trends and visitor data for Namhae County, cross-verifying findings through in-depth interviews with local tourism businesses.

The research team pointed out that, despite a high proportion of overnight stays in Namhae's tourism sector, spending is largely confined to basic lifestyle consumption, such as restaurants and cafes, and does not translate into additional tourism revenue.

In particular, the absence of experiential content has resulted in a significantly low density of tourism experiences relative to the duration of stays, and tourism demand is highly concentrated in a few popular areas, leading to a decline in overall vitality at other sites—a situation diagnosed as a "structural deadlock."

As solutions, the study presented three key strategies: differentiated marketing based on demand segmentation, enhancement of tourism experiences through local resource integration, and fostering "relationships" that promote a positive cycle between visitors and the local community.

For practical implementation, the study proposed initiatives such as "two-track marketing" targeting both nearby and distant markets, "local pairing" to connect spending across different types of businesses, "local ambassador" programs to cultivate honorary residents through progressively challenging missions, and customized social media marketing education for tourism businesses in anticipation of the era of conversational AI-based search.

The foundation plans to distribute the finalized brief widely to key administrative and decision-making bodies such as Namhae County and the Namhae County Council, as well as to relevant organizations, individual tourism businesses, and industry professionals within the region to ensure that the research results are translated into actual policies and on-site projects.

Through this approach, the public and private sectors can share a unified vision for the future of Namhae tourism. The plan is not just to stop at policy proposals but to directly implement pilot projects based on the study's recommendations, actively addressing local issues. Starting with this inaugural edition, the foundation will publish the "NTCF brief" on a quarterly basis.

Future research topics under consideration include strategies for revitalizing idle local facilities, plans to promote sports tourism, and measures to enhance the competitiveness of Namhae County festivals. The foundation aims to thoroughly examine these core issues and solidify its role as a think tank for local tourism.

Yongtae Kim, CEO of the Namhae Tourism and Culture Foundation, stated, "This policy brief is the result of combining data with voices from the field to contemplate the next step for Namhae tourism," adding, "We will continue to identify and propose practical policy alternatives that can be immediately applied to the field."

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