Geochang's "Half-Price Travel," Attracting Over 12,000 Visitors in the First Half, to Continue in the Second Half

Per Capita Spending Reaches About 160,000 Won;
Advance Applications Open from September 30


Program Aims to Expand Stay-Over Tourism and Local Consumption via Travel Expense Reimbursements

Geochang County in Gyeongnam Province will additionally implement the second half "Half-Price Healing Travel" program starting from September 30, as part of the "2026 Regional Love Vacation Support Pilot Project" organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization.

The Half-Price Healing Travel program reimburses 50 to 70 percent of travel expenses in mobile local currency to boost tourism in rural areas with declining populations. The program aims to attract external tourists and expand local consumption.

[Photo by Geochang County] A view of the Geochang Forest Leisure Park Treetop Observatory. Geochang County will additionally implement the second half ‘Half-Price Healing Travel’ program from the 30th, reimbursing part of tourists’ travel expenses in mobile local currency.

Eligible participants are tourists aged 18 or older who reside outside Geochang County and its neighboring regions—Gimcheon City, Sancheong County, Hamyang County, Hapcheon County, and Muju County.

The first round of advance applications will be available starting from 10 a.m. on September 30 through the Half-Price Healing Travel homepage.

According to Geochang County, more than 12,000 external tourists participated in the first half of this program, with confirmed spending totaling approximately 1.886 billion won. The per capita consumption amounted to about 160,000 won.

The county estimates that, when including reimbursements and unrecorded tourism spending, the total tourism consumption effect reached about 3 billion won. However, it clarified that this is an internally calculated estimate.

Geochang County also plans to link the program with events targeting returning tourists and the operation of a city tour bus in the second half of the year.

Following ongoing requests for additional rounds of the program after the conclusion of the first half, the county requested further funding from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization and secured national funding to continue the project into the second half of the year.

[Photo by Geochang County] Panoramic view of Byeolbaram Hill at Gamaksan Mountain, Geochang. Geochang County will implement the second half-year 'Half-Price Healing Travel' program starting from the 30th to attract outside tourists and expand local tourism consumption.

Geochang County Governor Lee Honggi said, “We will carry out the program to increase travel satisfaction for visitors to Geochang while providing practical support for local businesses,” adding, “We will continue to secure related national funding and actively develop a variety of tourism policies.”

Tourists who participated in the first half of the Half-Price Healing Travel program are not eligible for the second half.

Tourists who receive prior approval for application must visit at least two designated tourist sites in Geochang County and provide photographic proof, and must use the Geochang Half-Price Travel mobile voucher at two or more Zero Pay member stores within the county and submit proof of use to claim reimbursement.

The reimbursement will be distributed as a PIN number for the Geochang Half-Price Travel mobile voucher, which must be registered within 30 days from the date of issuance.

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