6.1 Billion Won for Regional Tourism Ideas... 13 Selected for "Korea Tourism Rising Stars"

Culture and Interior Ministries to Provide Special Grants to Awarded Local Governments
Four Categories: Tourism Products, Consumption Boost, Restoring Trust, Income Villages... Applications Open Until the 20th

A total of 6.1 billion won in financial incentives will be provided to 13 local governments that have proposed innovative ideas for regional tourism.

Haman Nakwhanori_ Beautiful nakwhanori shining in the darkness. Korea Tourism Organization

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced on the 5th that special grants totaling 6.1 billion won have been allocated for the local governments that win the regional tourism innovation idea contest, "Korea Tourism Rising Stars."

"Korea Tourism Rising Stars" is the first project launched by the Regional Tourism Policy Council in July this year. In this contest, local governments directly propose and compete with tourism policies tailored to their regions, and the selected projects receive special grants in varying amounts.

A total of 13 local governments will be selected. Among metropolitan governments, one grand prize winner and two excellence awardees will be chosen, for a total of three. Among basic local governments, one grand prize winner, two excellence awardees, and seven merit awardees will be selected, for a total of ten.

The competition consists of four categories: "Tourism Product Innovation," "Promoting Tourism Consumption," "Restoring Trust in Tourism," and "Tourism Income Villages." Local governments nationwide can apply until the 20th.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism plans to conduct its review from the end of this month through early December, and will hold an award ceremony in December after selecting the winning local governments. Projects awarded for excellence will also advance to the finals of next year’s "Korea Tourism Star."

The government intends to use this contest as a tool to encourage regions to discover new tourism products, boost consumption, and develop policies to restore trust in tourism. The plan is to turn these ideas into real projects through financial incentives and grow regional tourism into a driver for revitalizing regional economies.

Kang Jeongwon, policy chief of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said, "Our policy focus is to boldly expand the flow of tourism—currently concentrated in the capital area—by developing tourism zones centered around local airports." He added, "We hope that the tourism policy ideas from the selected local governments will become innovations that foster the growth of both the regions and the nation as a whole."

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