Tourism Organization Holds Crisis Response Strategy Forum for 'Sustainable Tourism'

Diagnosis of Crisis Response and Rebranding Strategies through Gangwon and Japanese Cases

The Gangwon Branch of the Korea Tourism Organization announced on the 12th that it held a forum on "Crisis Response Strategies for Sustainable Tourism" in collaboration with the Korean Tourism Policy Research Association.

Jangho Beach, Gangwon Province.
Photo by Gangwon Tourism Organization

This forum was organized to establish response strategies for crises occurring in local tourist destinations and to explore ways to attract new tourists through destination rebranding.

The first presenter was Professor Shin Hak-seung of Hanyang University, who suggested the need to establish rebranding response policies and build a governance cooperation system based on insights from analyzing the images of major tourist cities in Gangwon-do such as Gangneung, Yangyang, and Pyeongchang.

Next, Yoon Ji-min, director of the Korea Tourism Startup Association, emphasized the innovative role of tourism startups and their social responsibility for sustainable development under the theme "The Role of Tourism Startups in Enhancing Regional Image." The third presentation was given by Song Na-young, CEO of the Local Impact Research Institute, who analyzed tourism image crisis recovery and rebranding strategies through Japanese cases such as Kumamoto, Hakodate, and Shibuya, and proposed ways to apply these to Korea.

In the comprehensive discussion, Lee Yeon-taek, president of the Korean Tourism Policy Research Association (emeritus professor at Hanyang University), served as the chair, and presenters along with Jang Jun-su, senior research fellow at the Local Impact Research Institute, and Je Sang-won, head of the Gangwon Branch of the Korea Tourism Organization, participated as discussants to discuss practical cooperation strategies for managing tourist destination images and deeply explore measures for sustainable tourism.

Je Sang-won, head of the Gangwon Branch of the Korea Tourism Organization, said, "The image of tourist destinations is a key factor in attracting tourists and revitalizing the local economy, but it is also highly vulnerable to damage from natural disasters, environmental degradation, and overtourism," adding, "We hope that this forum will serve as an opportunity to establish sustainable tourism destination image management strategies and achieve an integrated approach that also considers cooperation with local residents."