Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) and Korea Minting, Security Printing & ID Card Operating Corp. (KOMSCO) are ramping up efforts to expand a "half-price travel" program that refunds half of travelers' expenses in local currency. The strategy aims to boost regional tourism and local spending simultaneously by eliminating refund processing fees and strengthening data-driven management.
KTO announced on the 23rd that it signed a cooperation agreement with KOMSCO at its Seoul Center on the 20th to promote the "Local Love Vacation Support Pilot Program." The program refunds 50% of expenses to travelers who visit designated local governments in the form of local digital currency redeemable in those regions. The core structure goes beyond simple discount events, driving both tourist inflows and local spending.
Under the agreement, participating local governments will process travel expense refunds through KOMSCO's local currency platform "Chak." The elimination of fees previously charged on each local currency issuance reduces the financial burden on municipalities.
Operational oversight will also be strengthened. KOMSCO will share usage data accumulated through its platform with KTO and provide a monitoring system to detect fraudulent refund claims. The initiative aims to use data to address recurring issues of duplicate claims and fraudulent usage that have plagued travel subsidy programs.
The two agencies plan to extend this partnership beyond a one-off project to broader tourism policy. They envision linking KTO's ongoing initiatives — including digital tourism resident cards, the Korea Trail, and the Tourism Dure community-based tourism program — with KOMSCO's payment and distribution infrastructure to increase tourist stays and spending.
KTO President Park Sung-hyuk said, "We have established a foundation to operate the half-price travel program more stably and efficiently," adding, "We will continue to expand tourism models that revitalize local economies through cross-industry collaboration."