Korea Tourism Organization Announces Winners of the '2021 Tourism Data Utilization Contest'

Photo of the service provided by 'Capping,' the award-winning work of the '2021 Tourism Data Utilization Contest.'

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] The Korea Tourism Organization and Kakao announced the winners of the ‘2021 Tourism Data Utilization Contest’ on the 18th.

The contest, held from May 10 to June 25, invited submissions for new services and business models suited to the rapidly changing social and technological environment by utilizing the Korea Tourism Organization’s multilingual tourism information open service Tour API and Kakao Open API.

Now in its 9th year, this contest expanded from the previously tourism and app development-focused ‘Smart Tourism App Development Contest’ (held since 2013) to encourage the development and idea planning of various types of products and services including software. Additionally, a new ‘Idea Planning Category’ was introduced, allowing participation with ideas alone to timely reflect rapidly changing social trends.

A total of 278 teams participated, and 50 winning entries were selected. In the ‘Idea Planning Category,’ 10 teams won awards (1 Grand Prize, 2 Excellence Awards, 3 Merit Awards, 4 Encouragement Awards), and in the ‘Product and Service Development Category,’ 40 teams were awarded (1 Grand Prize, 4 Excellence Awards, 15 Merit Awards, 20 Encouragement Awards).

The Grand Prize in the Idea Planning Category was awarded to ‘IndieWay,’ a tourism information service linking major regional tourist attractions with indie culture. Excellence Awards went to ‘Yodam,’ an augmented reality (AR)-based puzzle-style travel record service, and ‘Gaenang Travel,’ a customized reservation platform service for traveling with pets. Over 90% of participants in this category were individual applicants, indicating that the aim to reduce the burden of product and service development and expand participation was achieved.

The Grand Prize in the Product and Service Development Category was awarded to ‘Shuing,’ a service providing tourist site ranking information based on various tourism data. Excellence Awards were given to four teams: ‘Starry Night,’ a night sky and constellation-themed travel platform; ‘Tridi,’ a customized service for long-term travelers; ‘My Muse Tour,’ a personalized AI cultural tourism curation service; and ‘Camping,’ an information service for car camping trips with eight different themes. Winning entries in this category are available for use via web or app downloads from Google Play, App Store, and One Store.

During the contest period, the Korea Tourism Organization supported development through various programs such as technical and business practice education, investment attraction training, mentoring, and networking. Winners also receive benefits including promotion and demonstration events, customized consulting support, and a total prize money of 100 million KRW distributed differentially.

Kim Kyungsoo, Director of the Digital Content Center at the Korea Tourism Organization, stated, “With the ongoing non-face-to-face environment, interest in services utilizing digital technology is increasing, and many timely and effective services were discovered through the contest. The introduction of new contest categories and expansion of the award scale this year significantly increased interest and participation. Next year, we will organize substantial programs and prepare various support measures to ensure many new services desired by users are created.”