With South Korea on the brink of welcoming 30 million inbound tourists annually, new strategies have been outlined to channel tourism flows beyond the capital into regional areas. On August 20, the Korea Culture & Tourism Institute (KCTI) released a major study titled “Local Era: Strategies to Revitalize Regional Tourism for Inbound Visitors,” which analyzed the realities and bottlenecks of foreign visitor travel outside of metropolitan regions.

Utilizing a mix of foreign visitor surveys, air passenger origin-destination analysis, and Korea Railroad ticket purchases, KCTI provided a multifaceted overview of actual trends in regional visits. Their findings identified critical pain points across three travel stages. In the pre-trip phase, the low awareness of regional destinations directed tourists’ online searches and decisions toward the capital area. During travel, limited transportation accessibility and inconsistent standards of accommodations, multilingual service, and payment infrastructure hindered the visitor experience; additionally, there was a lack of compelling content and products to encourage longer stays. Post-trip, the absence of robust feedback and analysis mechanisms meant that ongoing improvement cycles were weak.

Addressing these challenges, KCTI proposed measures to enhance global competitiveness of regional inbound tourism. The report recommends cultivating world-class themed destinations unique to local areas, gradually developing 'glokal' tourism cities, international tourism hubs, and larger multi-regional tourism zones. Furthermore, it suggests designating pilot airports to specialize in inbound visitors, and transforming major KTX train stations into regional tourism gateways—providing all-in-one hubs for multilingual assistance, luggage services, currency exchange and refunds, and local transit connections.

The report also emphasizes building a private sector–led inbound tourism ecosystem. It advocates for boosting regional destination recognition through official channels and establishing real-time analysis systems. Collaborating with platforms, travel agencies, accommodation and transport providers can further expedite the development and quality of new offerings.

Kim Sewon, President of the Korea Culture & Tourism Institute, stated, "Tourism is emerging as a key solution to achieve the era of balanced regional development. In particular, creating an institutional foundation is essential for establishing a thriving inbound tourism ecosystem outside the capital. We hope this research will serve as crucial reference data for policymakers seeking to activate regional tourism among foreign visitors."

This study was selected as KCTI’s top research report for 2024, and the full report is available on the Korea Culture & Tourism Institute website.

Note “This article was translated from the original Korean version using AI assistance, and subsequently edited by a native-speaking journalist.”

Photo=Korea Culture & Tourism Institute, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism