The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization announced on the 6th that they will hold the 'Korea-OECD Tourism and Artificial Intelligence (AI) Forum' both online and offline at the Gyeongju Hwabaek Convention Center in cooperation with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
At the forum, the impact of AI technology on the tourism industry, along with the resulting opportunities, risks, and challenges, will be analyzed to discuss future response directions for governments, businesses, and tourism destinations. Over 100 participants, including tourism policy experts from international organizations such as the OECD, the European Union (EU) Tourism Committee, and the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), as well as representatives from regional tourism organizations (DMOs) in Italy, Canada, Australia, and domestic and international tourism companies such as Booking.com, Nua, and Ground K, will take part in the discussions. Online attendees can register for participation on the OECD event website.
Vice Minister Jang Mi-ran of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism delivers a welcome speech at the "Korea-OECD Tourism and Artificial Intelligence (AI) Forum" held on the 6th at the Gyeongju Hwabaek Convention Center. Photo by Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism
This forum will be held in Gyeongju, the scheduled host city for the APEC Summit in November, to commemorate Korea’s chairmanship of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in 2025.
Parts 1 and 2 of the forum will explore new opportunities AI will bring by examining specific cases of how tourism companies and regional tourism organizations are currently utilizing AI technology. It will also address the challenges AI technology poses to the tourism industry, including issues of information reliability, cybersecurity and data protection risks, evolving regulatory environments, and environmental impacts. Part 3 will discuss policy support and appropriate regulatory directions to enable the safe and trustworthy use of AI technology in the tourism industry.
Jang Mi-ran, the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism attending the forum, stated, "The Korean government will lead discussions with the international community to ensure that AI technology drives innovation and sustainable change in the tourism industry."
OECD Deputy Secretary-General Yoshiki Takeuchi said, "AI is already transforming the way tourists plan, book, and experience their travels," adding, "This forum will be a step forward in efforts to harness the power of artificial intelligence to support a sustainable and inclusive future for the tourism industry."
Following this forum, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism plans to hold a 'Tourism and AI Workshop' in cooperation with the OECD during the APEC Tourism Working Group (TWG) meeting scheduled for July in Incheon. Through this, the forum discussions will be expanded to the Asia-Pacific region, and the results will be published as a research report jointly with the OECD.
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