Tourism Organization Holds Completion Ceremony for 'Gangneung Yeongok Beach Camping Site' for Mobility-Restricted Visitors

Scenery of Gangneung Yeongok Beach Camping Site.

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] The Korea Tourism Organization announced on the 1st that it will hold a completion ceremony for the Yeongok Beach Camping Site in Gangneung, which has been developed as an ‘Open Tourist Site’ accessible to mobility-impaired individuals such as people with disabilities, infants, and the elderly, on the 2nd.

The Open Tourist Site development project is a program led and implemented by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization since 2015 to create a barrier-free tourism ecosystem by removing physical barriers through facility renovations such as walkways, accessible restrooms, and braille signage, as well as improving barrier-free guidance systems and human service environments. Currently, 112 locations nationwide have been selected.

The Yeongok Beach Camping Site was selected in the 2020 Open Tourist Site contest. From January to October this year, Gangneung City improved visitor mobility by paving the pine forest walkway within the camping site, renovating facilities such as showers, and enhancing barrier-free routes and facilities with tactile and audio guide signs. It also installed the country’s first wheelchair-accessible caravans and camping decks.

The completion ceremony will be attended by Kim Jang-ho, Director General of Tourism Policy at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism; Noh Jeom-hwan, Head of the National Tourism Headquarters at the Korea Tourism Organization; Kim Nyeom-gi, Deputy Mayor of Gangneung City; Choi Sang-hyun, President of Gangneung Tourism Development Corporation; as well as executives from the Gangneung Disabled Persons’ Association, who will also participate in experiencing the barrier-free open tourist site firsthand.

Meanwhile, prior to this event, the organization conducted an eco-friendly and safe open tourism sharing trip in Gangneung from the 16th to 17th of last month for about 30 tourism-vulnerable individuals. The itinerary included Gangneung Gyeongpo Beach, Anmok Coffee Street, and Yeongok Beach Camping Site.

Park In-sik, Director of the Tourism Welfare Center at the Korea Tourism Organization, stated, “We will focus on developing various contents, including barrier-free travel courses, to enable more people to use the developed open tourist sites.”