DaengDaeng Bus·MeongPossible... "Greatly Welcomed When You Come With Your Pet Dog" Banner Displayed Here

'Taean and Ulsan Selected as "Pet-Friendly Tourism Cities"
Taean-gun Operated "Daengdaeng Bus" from June to October Last Year
Ulsan Held "Mission Meongpassible Ulsan" Event'

The Korea Tourism Organization and Taean County operated a travel product called "Dangdang Bus to Taean" from June to October last year. It is a group travel product that allows participants to visit pet-friendly tourist destinations by riding a dedicated bus with their companion dogs. This product is a 1-night, 2-day package using the Taean Dangdang Bus (45 seats, maximum 20 passengers, separate seats for companion dogs). On the first day, the bus departs from Sadang Station in Seoul and participants experience activities such as a dog yoga (doga) class at "Kkotji Beach," selected as one of the 2023-2024 Korea Tourism Top 100. On the second day, they visit major Taean tourist sites including the wellness tourism destination "Farm Camille Farm" selected by the organization, before returning to Seoul. In addition, various programs that can be enjoyed with companion dogs were offered, and all participants received 3kg of loess pumpkin sweet potatoes provided by Taean County. Recruitment was on a first-come, first-served basis with up to 20 people per session (principle of 1 person 1 dog or 2 people 1 dog), and a total of 10 sessions were operated from June to October.

A woman visiting Kkotji Beach in Anmyeondo, Taean-gun, Chungnam, is doing Dog Yoga facing her pet dog. [Image provided by Korea Tourism Organization]

Ulsan City and the Ulsan Culture and Tourism Foundation introduced various pet-friendly programs from October to December last year. From October 28 to December 10, they held "Mission Meongpassible Ulsan," a pet-friendly walking mission tourism program. Mission Meongpassible Ulsan is a self-guided tourism program in Ulsan where participants complete assigned missions at major tourist sites with their pets during the period. Recruitment was limited to the first 100 teams, with the principle of 1 dog per team, and the participation fee was 10,000 KRW per person. Participants who visited Ulsan at least once and certified mission completion received gift packages, and prizes were awarded based on the degree of mission completion after the event. On November 11 and 25 last year, they also operated "Ulsan Onggijonggi Bijeo Boge," a pet-friendly onggi (traditional Korean earthenware) experience with an onggi master. Participants left their pets' paw prints on onggi clay plates to cherish precious moments with their pets.

Ulsan Trekking Mission Tour 'Meongpassible' Photo. [Image provided by Korea Tourism Organization]

Last month, the two organizations operated a tourist train product called "Ulsan Dangdang Train" on Christmas. The Ulsan Dangdang Train, carrying 200 pet owners and 145 companion dogs, rented the entire Paldo Market temporary train (6 passenger cars and 1 caf? car). Participants boarded the dedicated train at Seoul Station at 9:30 PM on the 24th with their dogs, traveling through Yeongdeungpo Station, Suwon Station, Pyeongtaek Station, Cheonan Station, and Daejeon Station, arriving at Taehwagang Station around 3 AM on the 25th. They enjoyed Christmas events, watched the sunrise at Ganjeolgot, toured Daewangam Park, and explored the Ulsan area, creating unforgettable memories. The two organizations also operated a pet-friendly yacht tourism program called "Dangdangi-rang Yacht Talgorae" at Ilsan Beach in Dong-gu, Ulsan City last summer.

Ulsan Trekking Mission Tour 'Meongpassible' Photo. [Image provided by Korea Tourism Organization]

Taean and Ulsan were selected as "Pet-Friendly Tourism Cities" by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization in 2023, each receiving 250 million KRW in national funding. A "Pet-Friendly Tourism City" is a city where pet owners can freely engage in tourism activities such as accommodation, dining, and shopping using various local tourism resources with their companion animals. This project was launched last year for the first time to revitalize the local economy through pet-friendly travel.

According to the 2022 Korea Tourism Organization's "Research on Activation Measures for Pet-Friendly Travel," pet-friendly travel is estimated to have an annual economic ripple effect of approximately 1.396 trillion KRW. This economic value is expected to increase as the pet-friendly travel industry grows. Therefore, the government plans to support the growth of cities into comfortable destinations for pet-friendly travel by discovering pet-friendly travel content and improving acceptance conditions.

The government and the Korea Tourism Organization are conducting a contest for "2024 Pet-Friendly Tourism Cities" until February 20. Depending on the size and characteristics of local governments, two categories?"Metropolitan" and "Basic"?will each select one city, for a total of two, with final selections in March. The evaluation will be conducted in two stages: document review and on-site presentation. Detailed information will be available on the Korea Tourism Industry Portal Touraz website and at a local government briefing session held at the Korea Tourism Organization Seoul Center on the 18th. Selected local governments will receive 250 million KRW this year (with mandatory 1:1 local government matching funds) and can receive support for up to four years (2024?2027) through annual mid-term evaluations. They will implement regional specialized projects such as developing pet-friendly tourist sites and travel products and improving acceptance conditions.