Tourism Organization Selects Three Open Tourism Sites Including Suncheonman Wetland as 'Best Practices'

The Suncheon Bay area.

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] The Korea Tourism Organization announced on the 14th that Suncheonman Wetland, Danghangpo Tourist Site, and Daegaya History Theme Tourist Site have been selected as exemplary cases of accessible tourism sites.

Accessible tourism sites, initiated in 2015, are projects aimed at creating tourism environments that allow anyone with mobility challenges?including people with disabilities, the elderly, families with infants and young children, and pregnant women?to use tourist destinations. This involves removing physical barriers through facility renovations, improving guidance systems, and enhancing human service environments.

The purpose of selecting exemplary accessible tourism sites this time was to establish a virtuous cycle for the project by encouraging continuous maintenance and improvement by local governments, which are the managing entities, through discovering best practices. Accordingly, among a total of 92 accessible tourism sites, 17 sites selected between 2015 and 2017 that have been established for more than three years were targeted. From March to June, a comprehensive evaluation was conducted through expert field surveys, in-depth interviews with stakeholders, and visitor statistics analysis to select the exemplary cases. The field survey involved an advisory group composed of professional organizations, barrier-free facility experts, and people with disabilities.

In the case of Suncheonman Wetland, the barrier-free routes that allow easy movement for the elderly and people with disabilities received high marks; Danghangpo Tourist Site was praised for its content and convenience facilities designed for families with infants and young children; and Daegaya History Theme Tourist Site was highly evaluated for its tactile experience content for the visually impaired.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization plan to provide customized consulting for facility renovations and the development of barrier-free tourism content to the exemplary accessible tourism sites. For local governments that were not selected, monitoring results including areas for improvement and supplementation will be individually provided to assist with continuous maintenance.

Park Insik, head of the Tourism Welfare Center at the Korea Tourism Organization, stated, “The call for applications for accessible tourism site selection for 2022 is ongoing until July 30. More than 100 sites nationwide are expected to be completed by next year, and we hope that more local governments will take an interest.”