Up to 100,000 Won per Person, 140,000 Won for Young Adults Refunded Through ‘Half-Price Travel’ Again... “52 Billion Won Invested, 162 Billion Spent Locally”

At Least 3.1 Times the Reimbursement Spent...
56.3% of Participants Visited the Area for the First Time

“Half-Price Travel” Program Continues into the Fall

Ministry of Culture Selects Nine New Regions Including Hwacheon, Andong, and Taean

The "Half-Price Travel" initiative, which refunds half of travel expenses to visitors of rural depopulation areas, will continue this fall. In the first half of the year, a refund budget of 5.2 billion won was allocated, and it is estimated that this led to at least 16.2 billion won in local spending.

Seolli Beach, Namhae County, Gyeongnam Province. Korea Tourism Organization, Visit Korea website.

On August 27, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced that it has selected nine new regions for the second half of the year to participate in the "Local Love Vacation Support" project, which is operated jointly with the Korea Tourism Organization. The newly participating regions are Hwacheon County in Gangwon Province, Goseong County, Sancheong County, and Hamyang County in Gyeongnam Province, Andong City and Yeongcheon City in Gyeongbuk Province, Seocheon County and Taean County in Chungnam Province, and Jangheung County in Jeonnam Province.

The "Half-Price Travel" project refunds half of travel expenses to people visiting rural depopulation areas in the form of digital local love gift certificates. Individuals can receive up to 100,000 won, and young adults up to 140,000 won. Since April, the program has been carried out in 16 regions, including Pyeongchang, Yeongwol, Jecheon, Gochang, Gangjin, Haenam, Miryang, and Namhae.

According to an analysis of refund records and user surveys by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization for the first half of the year, 5.2 billion won in refunds were disbursed by the end of June, resulting in at least 16.2 billion won in spending in these regions—3.1 times the refund amount. The spending breakdown was 45.5% for food and beverages, 32.2% for accommodations, 10.2% for shopping and local specialties, and 6.3% for sightseeing and experiences. 76.4% of users responded that the refund prompted them to increase their spending.

Promotional image for the 'Local Love Vacation Support (Half-Price Travel)' project, which refunds half of the travel expenses to rural depopulation area travelers in the form of local love gift certificates. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has selected nine new participating regions this fall, including Hwacheon, Andong, and Taean. Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism

The program was also found to influence travel destination selection. 31.2% of users said "Half-Price Travel" prompted them to take a trip they had not originally planned, while 50.0% changed their intended destinations to regions participating in the program. Based on these findings, the Ministry concluded that new regional travel demand was generated among 81.2% of users. Additionally, 56.3% stated they were visiting the participating region for the first time.

The newly selected regions will launch the program in succession after preparatory steps beginning at the end of August. Some of the first-half participating areas—including Miryang City, Geochang County, Wando County, and Yeonggwang County—will extend the project through the fall by allocating additional funds. Applications can be made through each local government's website.

Kang Jeongwon, policy chief of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, stated, "The 'Half-Price Travel' initiative helps ease the burden of travel expenses for the public and effectively attracts new visitors and temporary residents to depopulation areas. We will continue to cooperate closely with local governments so that the positive response in the 16 participating regions during the first half of the year continues into the fall."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.