Korea banks on K-culture and new regions to attract 30 million tourists by 2030

Korea aims to attract 30 million foreign tourists by 2030. To meet that target, the government is pushing an overhaul of the tourism industry by fostering new inbound cities, promoting regional tourism and revamping outdated regulations.

Naksan Park [BAEK JONG-HYUN]

Korea aims to attract 30 million foreign tourists by 2030, nearly double the 16 million who visited last year.

To meet that target, the government is pushing a sweeping overhaul of the tourism industry — fostering regions outside of Seoul to attract international tourist, promoting provincial tourism among domestic travelers and revamping outdated regulations.

"Korea has come under a global spotlight as K-culture is receiving an unprecedented amount of interest from around the world," said Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Chae Hwi-young in a strategy meeting on national tourism, chaired by Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, on Thursday.

"Namsan Tower and Naksan Park have become a must-visit course among foreign tourists. Rising interest in K-culture is an opportunity for us to take a leap toward becoming a tourism powerhouse."

One major mission is diversifying tourism content for foreign travelers.

The ministry plans to designate two additional regions outside the capital area as part of a broader strategy to create a "mega tourism belt."

Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, third from left, and Minister of Cuture, Tourism and Sports Chae Hwi-young, second from left attend a strategy meeting on national tourism on Thursday. [YONHAP]

"In Japan, for example, aside from Tokyo, there is Osaka, there is Sapporo, and in Vietnam, there is Hanoi, Da Nang and so on, but Korea's tourism still largely relies on Seoul," said Kim Dae-hyun, second vice minister of culture, tourism and sports said in a briefing Wednesday.

The selection of two regions will be made within this year at the earliest, the second vice minister said.

K-culture will play a vital role in attracting more foreign tourists from diverse countries, the ministry says.

Currently, foreign tourists to Korea are mostly from Japan and China, according to the ministry, and it plans to diversify that to Southeast Asia, the Middle East, North America, Europe and Australia by offering a wider variety of cultural experiences.

One of its plans involves building a large-scale K-pop concert arena in the capital area to serve K-pop fans from around the world. The lack of dedicated and easily accessible K-pop venues has been constantly raised as an issue in both the music and tourism industry.

"We are thinking of a venue that can accommodate more than 50,000 seats, or people, in total," Kim said. The venue plans to break ground by the first half of 2030, the ministry said.

There will be a systematic overhaul too.

The Korea Electronic Travel Authorization system, which allows eligible foreign travelers to enter the country without a visa, will also be extended. It was originally set to expire at the end of this year.

An integrated travel pass combining transportation tickets and admissions to major tourist attractions will also go into development from next year, the minister said.

Boosting tourism in provincial areas is another key element of the overhaul.

Plans include offering discounts through reimbursement programs, developing a “workation” model — combining remote work with vacation — and creating a domestic version of the Michelin Guide.

Revamping tourism-related legislation, first enacted in the 1970s, will also comprise a major part of the initiative. The current Tourism Promotion Act will be split into two separate laws: one focused on industry regulation, and the other on tourism development.

Collecting and integrating tourism-related data currently scattered across various government agencies will also be part of the initiative. For example, the Korea Tourism Organization plans to consolidate 13 separate channels into a single platform to help users more easily find Korea-related travel information.

BY JIN EUN-SOO [jin.eunsoo@joongang.co.kr]