Seeking AI and Deep Tech Tourism Companies... Korea Tourism Organization to Recruit 65 Tourism Ventures

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization are recruiting an additional 65 promising start-up companies in the tourism sector.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization are recruiting an additional 65 promising startups in the tourism sector. Photo by Korea Tourism Organization.

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The Korea Tourism Organization announced on the 29th that it will be accepting applications for the "18th Tourism Venture Support Project" until May 15. This recruitment is part of the follow-up measures to the expanded National Tourism Strategy Meeting held in February and the supplementary budget allocation, aimed at discovering and nurturing additional innovative companies in the tourism sector.

The recruitment is divided into three categories according to the stage of company growth: preliminary tourism ventures, early-stage tourism ventures, and growth-stage tourism ventures. The preliminary tourism venture category, for aspiring entrepreneurs without a business registration certificate, will select 15 companies. The early-stage tourism venture category, for companies established within three years, will select 25 companies. The growth-stage tourism venture category, for companies established between three and seven years ago, will also select 25 companies.

Applicants can select one of four types for their entry: tourism experience services, immersive tourism content, tourism infrastructure, or tourism deep tech.

The final selected companies will receive differentiated commercialization funding depending on their category and evaluation results. The maximum amount of funding per company is 70 million won for preliminary tourism ventures, 80 million won for early-stage tourism ventures, and 100 million won for growth-stage tourism ventures. The preliminary category requires at least 10% self-financing, while the early-stage and growth categories require at least 20% self-financing.

The selected companies will carry out their projects, following a diagnostic consulting process, until November. In addition to commercialization funding, the organization will provide one-on-one tailored consulting through professional accelerators, support participation in domestic and international exhibitions, and offer investment and networking opportunities. The selected status is maintained for three years after selection, and follow-up support such as marketing and sales channel development is also available.

Min Jeonghee, head of the Tourism Enterprise Start-up Team at the Korea Tourism Organization, stated, "The tourism industry is rapidly being reorganized based on AI and deep tech technologies, and tourism venture companies are at the core of this innovation," adding, "We will support tourism ventures so that they can build global competitiveness based on their creative ideas and technological capabilities."

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