Korea Tourism Organization Invites Applications for Tourism Enterprise Innovation Vouchers...Up to 130 Million Won for AI Transformation

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization announced on February 4 that they will be recruiting beneficiary companies for the "Tourism Enterprise Innovation Voucher Support Project" until the 27th to strengthen the digital competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises in the tourism sector.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization are recruiting beneficiary companies for the "Tourism Enterprise Innovation Voucher Support Project" until the 27th to strengthen the digital competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises in the tourism sector. Photo by Korea Tourism Organization

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The Innovation Voucher Support Project provides support in the form of vouchers to cover the costs of tasks related to artificial intelligence (AI) and digital transformation for tourism enterprises. Selected companies are matched with service providers to carry out the tasks, and the Korea Tourism Organization pays the fees in the form of vouchers.

This year, in order to support the execution of advanced digital tasks such as AI, the support amount has been increased by up to 30 million won compared to the previous year. The Korea Tourism Organization plans to select a total of 78 companies in two categories: "advanced" and "general." The advanced type will receive vouchers of up to 130 million won, including the company’s own contribution, while the general type will receive vouchers of up to 70 million won.

The support areas include: app and web development and advancement; introduction of new technologies such as AI, big data, and robots; introduction of ICT solutions; digital transformation consulting; and digital marketing. In addition, a mentoring group composed of experts in IT, AI, and tourism will support the entire process of the tasks and provide follow-up management so that the introduction of technology can lead to tangible business outcomes.

Eligible applicants are small and medium-sized enterprises under the Framework Act on Small and Medium Enterprises that are currently engaged in tourism business or are planning to conduct tourism-related business. However, companies that have received support at least once from projects such as the existing Innovation Voucher Project, the Korea Tourism Organization’s digital transformation support project for the travel industry, or the Smart MICE Promotion Project are not eligible to apply.

Details related to the call for applications can be found on the Innovation Voucher website and on Tourras, the Korea Tourism Industry Portal. The Korea Tourism Organization plans to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the excellence of voucher utilization plans, task execution capabilities, and expected effects, and announce the final selection results in April.

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