The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport have formed a joint consultative body to ease regional travel inconveniences for foreign tourists. The move reflects the view that improvements to air, rail, bus, and taxi systems must come first if visitors to Korea are to travel beyond the Seoul metropolitan area to other regions.
The two ministries said they will hold the first meeting of the "Tourism-Transport Policy Council" at the Government Complex Sejong on the 27th. The council was established to enhance regional travel convenience for foreign tourists and support the revitalization of regional tourism. Director-general-level officials from both ministries will serve as co-chairs. Around eight officials in charge of tourism and transport policy will participate, jointly reviewing inconveniences that arise during foreign tourists' travel.
The first meeting will review the implementation of tourism-transport cooperation tasks presented at the 11th National Tourism Strategy Meeting and discuss additional improvement measures. The core objective is to expand the travel range of foreign tourists from the metropolitan area to other regions.
Topics for discussion include expansion of demand-responsive transport (DRT) and bus services, the establishment of late-night airport limousine buses, an extension of the KTX advance booking period, the installation of dedicated boarding and alighting zones for platform taxis, and the operation of an integrated tourism pass. The aim is to seamlessly connect the entire journey, from foreign tourists' arrival at the airport to their travel to regional destinations and onward movement to tourist sites within those regions.
While the government has set a target of attracting 30 million foreign visitors, the tourism industry has continued to point out that without supporting regional travel convenience, the increase in tourists may remain confined to Seoul-centered consumption. Local airport, rail, bus, and taxi systems are unfamiliar to foreigners, and information on reservations, payments, and transfers is scattered, raising the barrier to regional visits.
"To achieve the 30 million foreign visitor target, the revitalization of regional tourism is essential, and the key to this is securing convenient travel to the regions," said Kang Jung-won, head of the Tourism Policy Office at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. "We will create a tourism environment without inconvenience throughout the entire journey, from entry to departure."
