Hapcheon County Selected for Tourism Transportation Promotion Project... Boost for Stay-Type Tourism Transformation

Hapcheon County in South Gyeongsang Province has been finally selected for the “2026 Tourism Transportation Promotion Area Public Contest Project” organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization, securing a total project budget of 800 million won.

The Tourism Transportation Promotion Area Public Contest Project is designed to support the development of transportation systems tailored to the characteristics of regions with high tourism potential but poor access to public transportation. This year, four local governments across the country were selected: Hapcheon County, Uiseong County, Gimcheon City, and Gunwi County.

The core of this project is to establish a transportation network connecting Hapcheon with major regional hubs nearby. Until now, Hapcheon has been known as a region with low public transportation accessibility and a high dependence on private vehicles.

[Photo by Hapcheon County] Poster for the 2026 Tourism Transportation Promotion Area Public Project

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However, once the wide-area transportation network is established, accessibility for tourists from Daegu, North Gyeongsang, as well as the Seoul metropolitan area and the Chungcheong region, is expected to improve significantly.

In particular, the project is significant in that it proactively builds a tourism transportation infrastructure ahead of the scheduled opening of Hapcheon Station in 2031. The county plans to set up the wide-area connection system before the railway opens to maximize tourism demand at the time of opening.

In addition, a circular tourism route will be created to connect the northern historical and cultural zone centered on Haeinsa Temple with the western ecological and scenic zone around Hwangmaesan. Through this, the county aims to shift from one-time visits to a stay-type tourism structure, increasing both the duration of visitors’ stays and local spending.

Going forward, the county will work with the Korea Tourism Organization through consulting and a business agreement to concretize detailed route planning, operation schedules, and the development of tourism-linked programs, and will fully launch the project.

Jang Jae-hyeok, acting county governor of Hapcheon, said, “This selection is more than just securing a budget-it is an opportunity to fundamentally transform Hapcheon’s tourism sector. We will steadily build stay-type tourism infrastructure in preparation for the 2031 opening of Hapcheon Station.”

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