The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will hold a roundtable with regional tourism organizations and local governments to discuss measures to address overcharging and unfriendly service in regional tourism areas. The initiative aims to broaden public-private cooperation involving local residents and merchant associations to build a foundation for repeat visits to regional destinations.
The ministry said Thursday it will host the regional tourism roundtable at Sangyeonjae in Jung-gu, Seoul, with officials from the Korea Tourism Organization, 13 regional tourism organizations, and local governments. The meeting serves as a follow-up to the "Tourism Saemaul Movement" discussed at the 16th cabinet meeting on the 14th of last month.
Regional tourism organizations manage local tourism resources and lead public-private cooperation. They connect local governments, tourism businesses, residents, and merchant associations to develop and promote regional tourism products and attract visitors. About 40 participants will attend, including officials from 10 municipal-level regional tourism organizations, three regional-bloc tourism organizations, and related local governments.
The roundtable will review regional tourism issues and discuss policy directions to improve the image of regional tourism. The key agenda is addressing overcharging and unfriendly service. The ministry believes that unpleasant experiences at lodging facilities, restaurants, and traditional markets make it difficult to encourage return visits. Discussions will focus on expanding cooperation with private actors such as local merchant associations, centered on regional tourism organizations.
Plans for a nationwide campaign are also on the agenda. The ministry is reviewing a joint campaign involving the 13 regional tourism organizations and local governments, along with creating a common slogan that everyone can easily remember. The ministry also plans to request cooperation from local governments so that regions without established regional tourism organizations or those whose existing support has ended can also participate.
Measures to further subdivide the scope of public-private cooperation will also be discussed. While regional tourism organizations currently operate mainly at the municipal level, the ministry is considering expanding the cooperation structure to the township (eup, myeon, dong) level. The aim is to connect regional tourism organizations with locally-based groups such as Tourism Dure and village enterprises to gather on-the-ground opinions more thoroughly.
"Regional tourism is a core element of revitalizing local economies and an important policy for overcoming regional extinction," said Kang Dong-jin, the ministry's tourism policy director. "We will work to create regions free of overcharging and known for friendly service through this roundtable." He added, "We will continue administrative and financial support so that diverse people in the regions can participate in regional tourism policy."
