The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Minister Choi Hwi-young) said on Tuesday that it will accept applications from local governments through July 6 to participate in this year's newly launched "Global Tourism Zone" development project.
The open call targets "tourism zones" nationwide, excluding the Seoul metropolitan area and Jeju Island, which has its own tourism fund support system. Applications can be submitted by metropolitan local governments that have designated tourism zones. The ministry plans to select two promising zones equipped with unique core content and excellent tourism infrastructure and services, and intensively foster them into tourist destinations frequented by people from around the world.
As of June last year, there were a total of 36 "tourism zones" across the country. However, they have been criticized for being uniformly mediocre in scale and failing to deliver meaningful results. The aim of creating global-scale tourism zones this year is to encourage foreign visitors to spread out across regions and to establish specialized regional tourism hubs. Excluding Seoul (8 zones), Incheon (1 zone), Gyeonggi Province (5 zones), and Jeju (1 zone) from the total, 21 zones are eligible for this open call.
The open call is divided into two types based on the level of tourism industry development and the characteristics of regional resources: "Future Convergence Type" and "Locally Self-Sustaining Type." The "Future Convergence Tourism Zone" targets zones that have attracted at least 200,000 foreign visitors over the past year and combine smart technology with cultural facilities, while the "Locally Self-Sustaining Tourism Zone" targets zones that have drawn at least 100,000 foreign visitors and possess unique historical, cultural, and scenic resources. Each local government can choose the type that best suits its core resources and apply accordingly.
The two selected "Global Tourism Zones" will receive 3 billion won in state funding (1.5 billion won annually) over two years. Based on public-private partnerships, the project will also support efforts to create environments where foreign tourists can travel more easily and conveniently in the regions, and to develop and promote the "Global Tourism Zone" brand.
"According to the 2025 Survey on Foreign Tourists, 81.7% of foreign visitors to Korea visited Seoul, showing that regional concentration remains a persistent issue," the ministry said. "Through this project, we will develop differentiated tourism content and brands that capture the unique appeal of each region, improve convenience services for foreign tourists, and create successful models of regional tourism with global competitiveness."
