It’s time to redefine tourism

Kang Woo-hyon
The author is the CEO of Tamnara Republic and writer of children’s books.

The government included tourism in its national projects of “Top 10 Strategic Industries” in 1996, “New Growth Engine of the Korean Economy” in 2013 and “Three Major Export Industries” in 2019. It has been a tradition that the president host an extended tourism promotion meeting to resolve differences between ministries and support collaboration. Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Yoo In-chon, vowed that the promotion of K-culture could attract 20 million tourists this year at a recent strategy meeting for the Visit Korea Year campaign.

56 million people had traveled through Incheon International Airport as of the end of last year, bringing the number of international tourists close to its pre-pandemic level. The vision of becoming one of the world’s top 10 tourism destinations by 2027 with 30 million tourists and $30 billion in tourism revenue seems feasible.

Will this sanguine prospect become reality? It is unusual to see foreign tourists outside of central Seoul. Provincial destinations and Jeju have even seen a decline in the number of Korean tourists who are increasingly selecting Southeast Asia and Japan after finding Korean destinations to be expensive and unfriendly.

Are overpricing and unfriendliness unique to Jeju? Will foreign visitors really fill the empty space after local tourists turn away from disappointing regional festivals? The optical illusion of Korea’s tourism industry is shattering.

Government workers and leaders of various industries should go sightseeing when they are on business trips at home or abroad. They had better not boast that they only spent time on conferences and meetings. They are required to take a closer look at the natural and urban environments, transportation, accommodation, amenities and shopping. They must check out the local festivals and shopping malls in famous tourist destinations and compare the levels of friendliness and prices with others.

They must realize how much money is being wasted on building new tourist facilities and hosting local festivals and recognize that a tourism promotion strategy obsessed with statistics is simply not right.

You must not find fault with workers taking tours while on business trips. Business travelers must ignore such criticisms. And we should stop calling something “K-culture” based on half-baked advice from some experts and industry workers. Sadly, many high-ranking officials, who believe sightseeing is embarrassing, are still giving congratulatory speeches at government-hosted events.

Tourism is like a blood vessel of everyday life. But we cannot see the heart that pumps blood into that vessel. The central government, regional governments, Korea National Tourism Organization, regional tourism organizations and countless other entities representing hotels, restaurants and convention industries are acting as if they are the heart of tourism industry. But that industry is a mess.

We do not see anyone with the power to filter out the overlapping and wasteful events of municipal governments and prevent the ministries’ disorganized operations. The president started hosting the extended meeting on tourism promotion in 1996 to facilitate cooperation with and support for the industry. But the sector returned to where it had been after the meeting ended. Domestic tourism is suffering, and we do not have the luxury of discussing the need for a heart of tourism.

While the issue of establishing a new agency for immigration as a part of population and multiculture policy is being actively discussed, the president’s promise to create a new agency on tourism seems to have been forgotten. Is a tourism agency, which offers satisfactions and convenience to domestic and foreign travelers, less important than a new immigration agency? It will be the heart that revitalizes the blood vessels of Korean tourism, no matter where it will be located. We still need a tourism agency even if it is not in Jeju.

It is urgent that we unify our administration to preserve the unique cultural heritage and natural beauty of provinces and prevent reckless hosting of festivals. Local governments must end their backwards policy of hosting generic events, failing to clean up their venues and overpricing. If we agree that tourism is a catalyst for balanced regional development, establishing a new tourism agency is not a subject for debate and political battles.

Tourism pertains to the realm of aesthetics. It cannot be resolved by numbers and simple text alone. The most Korean thing is every part of our daily lives. Expectations are high for the new tourism agency to showcase the beauty of Korea that cannot be measured by money alone.

The president’s promise to create a new agency on tourism seems to have been forgotten.