Suncheon-si, Reborn as a Mecca for Workation

On the 12th day since the opening of the Garden Expo, Suncheon City, which continues its blockbuster success by surpassing 1 million visitors, is promoting the development of a ‘Suncheon-style Workation Product’ by leveraging the enhanced urban dignity and brand value gained through this expo.

Workation, a portmanteau of work and vacation, refers to a way of enjoying leisure while working. It has emerged as a new tourism trend following the diversification of work styles post-COVID-19 and the advent of the wellness and metaverse era.

[Photo by Suncheon City]

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For example, according to a 2022 survey by the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute, 64% of respondents expressed a desire to participate in workations, showing high interest across all age groups, indicating significant growth potential for the workation market.

Accordingly, Suncheon City plans to respond to new tourism trends and promote extended-stay tourism through region-specific workation programs, while securing a living population and revitalizing the local economy by utilizing the ripple effects of the Garden Expo.

First, to establish infrastructure for workation participants, the city applied for the ‘Workation’ category under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s ‘Gohyang Ollae (GO鄕 ALL來) Project’ to build base facilities and plans to design and operate region-specific workation programs such as leisure and healing types, exploration types, and rural and traditional experience types.

Alongside this, efforts will be made to attract participating companies and organizations through focused promotion and agreements targeting metropolitan area companies and investment attraction institutions.

Additionally, incentives such as providing workation users with the same benefits as Suncheon citizens for using tourist attractions, and discounts on accommodation and transportation fees linked to local currency, will be offered to help Suncheon become a holy land for workations.

A Suncheon City official stated, “We have decided to promote workation to secure a living population and revitalize the local economy in line with changing tourism trends,” adding, “We will strive to become a leading workation area by utilizing Suncheon’s excellent local resources and the ripple effects of the expo.”

Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Heo Seon-sik hss79@asiae.co.kr

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