Moving Beyond Seoul-Centric Tourism: Culture Ministry Launches Nationwide Tourism Zone Redesign

Regional Meetings to Foster Ultra-Wide-Area Tourism Zones

Redesigning by Grouping Gateway Cities and Connected Cities

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on May 12 that it will hold regional meetings at the Government Complex Sejong on May 12 and 14 to foster ultra-wide-area tourism zones.

This series of meetings has been organized to expand the tourism growth axis, which has been centered on the Seoul metropolitan area, to the entire country. The ministry plans to redesign specialized regional tourism zones based on the five major hubs—Seoul Metropolitan Area, Southeast Area, Daegu-Gyeongbuk Area, Central Area, and Southwest Area—and three special zones—Jeju, Gangwon, and Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Provinces.

The meeting on May 12 will focus on discussing tourism development strategies for the Southeast Area, Central Area, Southwest Area, and Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Province. On May 14, the agenda will cover strategies for the Daegu-Gyeongbuk Area and Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province. Additional meetings related to the Seoul Metropolitan Area and Jeju Special Self-Governing Province will be held in the middle of the month.

This discussion is a follow-up to the "Five Hubs and Three Special Zones-Based Regional Tourism Specialization Zones" plan announced at the 11th National Tourism Strategy Meeting, presided over by the president in February. The ministry intends to move away from developing tourism based solely on administrative districts and instead organize tourism zones according to the actual travel routes of tourists.

The ministry will establish a new regional tourism development system by grouping gateway cities—where domestic and international tourists begin their journeys—with adjacent cities that possess related tourism resources, according to each zone. It will also review improvement tasks for each stage of the travel experience, such as local entry, transportation, accommodation, activities, dining, and shopping.

Kang Jeongwon, policy chief for tourism at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, stated, "Tourists do not travel according to administrative boundaries," and emphasized, "The government and local authorities must expand regional tourism development from the unit of a single administrative district to the five hubs and three special zones framework."

He added, "We will carefully review opinions from regional tourism sites and develop a successful Korean-style regional tourism model."