Haenam-gun Wins Grand Prize at the 2nd Festival and Tourism Awards

Evaluation of "Overcoming the COVID Crisis through Active Tourism Policy Development"

Haenam County won the Grand Prize at the 2nd Festival and Tourism Awards. ⓒ Asia Economy

[Haenam＝Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Hyun] Haenam-gun, Jeollanam-do, won the grand prize in the comprehensive category at the 2nd Festival and Tourism Awards hosted by Gwangju Daily Newspaper and sponsored by Jeollanam-do, Gwangju Metropolitan City, and Korea Tourism Organization.

According to the county on the 8th, evaluations were conducted on eight items for the development of the tourism industry, including attracting tourists, promoting tourism content, holding online and offline festivals, and developing new products. Despite the difficulties caused by COVID-19, Haenam received high scores for actively promoting projects such as holding the Haenam Minam Festival both online and offline and operating vaccine-safe travel products.

In particular, the reorganization of the dedicated tourism department, hiring tourism experts, and launching the Haenam Culture and Tourism Foundation secured professionalism in tourism policies and strengthened execution capabilities, which also received favorable evaluations.

Haenam-gun has been steadily working to attract new tourists by building tourism infrastructure such as the opening of the marine cable car and skywalk, and by branding local tourism resources such as ‘Dalmagodo’, ‘Ttangkkeut Masil’, and ‘Haenam City Tour’ as premium products.

County Governor Myeong Hyun-gwan, who attended the awards ceremony, said, “It is a great honor to receive a meaningful award in the festival and tourism sector,” and added, “Since taking office, I believe the high evaluation came from efforts such as developing the Haenam Minam Festival and launching the Culture and Tourism Foundation to enhance the Haenam tourism brand.”

Meanwhile, the awards ceremony was held on the 8th at the Kim Dae-jung Convention Center, where Haenam-gun and the Gwangju Tourism Foundation won the grand prize, and 11 other organizations and companies received excellence and special awards in various fields such as content and MICE sectors.

Haenam＝Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Hyun kh0424@asiae.co.kr