Tourism Job Hub 'Regional Tourism Enterprise Support Center' to Nest in Gwangju

Yang Hyang-ja MP "Establishing a Tourism Innovation Hub to Build a Self-Sustaining Tourism Industry Structure and Boost Tourist Attraction Vitality"

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] A center to nurture tourism companies in the Gwangju area and operate a tourism job hub will be established in the Seo-gu district of Gwangju.

On the 31st, according to Yang Hyang-ja, a member of the National Assembly (Gwangju Seo-gu Eul), Gwangju Metropolitan City was finally selected in the ‘2022 Regional Tourism Enterprise Support Center Establishment’ public contest hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The Regional Tourism Enterprise Support Center Establishment contest is a government project aimed at systematically fostering local tourism companies by guiding tourism startup demand, which is concentrated in the metropolitan area, to local regions.

Among the local governments that applied to host the Regional Tourism Enterprise Support Center earlier this year, four local governments including Gwangju (Gwangju, Gyeongbuk, Ulsan, Jeonbuk) passed the screening and were finally selected.

The Gwangju Tourism Enterprise Support Center will receive a total of 10 billion KRW over five years, with 2 billion KRW annually until 2026 (5 billion KRW from the national government and 5 billion KRW from the city government).

It is expected to serve as a regional hub for revitalizing the Gwangju tourism industry by comprehensively providing services such as discovering local tourism startups, systematically fostering local tourism companies, education, promotion, marketing consulting, and support for office space.

Currently, there are a total of four regional tourism enterprise support centers nationwide (Busan, Incheon, Daejeon·Sejong, Gyeongnam), which have played a significant role in revitalizing the local tourism industry by discovering and supporting 233 companies, supporting the settlement of 343 companies, and creating 1,234 jobs since 2019.

Assemblywoman Yang pointed out, “Gwangju is a city with great potential for the tourism industry, with its democratic cultural heritage, delicious food, outstanding natural environment, and local art content. However, the number of registered tourism businesses in Gwangju accounts for only 2.2% nationwide, ranking 5th among special/metropolitan cities and 14th among all provinces and cities nationwide. Moreover, there is currently not a single regional tourism enterprise support center in the entire Honam region.”

She added, “Since the year before last, as a member of the Budget and Accounts Committee, I have strongly advocated for the establishment of a tourism enterprise support center in Gwangju through inquiries, and after persistently persuading government agencies including the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism together with Gwangju City, this great achievement was realized. I will continue to do my best for Gwangju’s leap forward as a cultural tourism city.”