Gwangju City to Open the Era of a 30 Million Tourist City Linked to Industry

Promoting Five Major Strategies and Fourteen Action Tasks for the "Visit Gwangju Year"
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Developing and Launching Products Leveraging Strengths in May 18, Sports, and More

Citizens watching the fireworks show at the Chungjang Festival held last year in Chungjangro. Provided by Gwangju City

Gwangju City has designated the "2025 Visit Gwangju Year" as the starting point for its leap toward becoming a tourism city where tourism becomes a key industry.

According to Gwangju City on the 17th, it has established five major strategies: ▲a festival city with year-round enjoyment, ▲offering large-scale tourism products and bold promotions, ▲expanding visitor-centric tourism infrastructure, ▲creating a boom for the Visit Gwangju Year, and ▲strategic marketing. The city plans to implement 14 specific action tasks based on these strategies.

Gwangju City aims to successfully lead the Visit Gwangju Year to invigorate the local economy, while leveraging its unique strengths in culture, arts, and sports to expand the local consumption base.

This year, through the "Visit Gwangju Year," the city aims to attract 18 million urban users, laying the foundation for opening the era of 30 million visitors to the tourism city.

The city has formed the "Visit Gwangju Year Task Force" led by the Deputy Mayor for Culture and Economy, strengthening interdepartmental cooperation and identifying key action tasks. At the end of this month, a proclamation ceremony for the "Visit Gwangju Year" will be held in Seoul, attended by the government and related organizations.

Gwangju Kia Champions Field filled with citizens cheering for the KIA Tigers. Photo by Gwangju City

In particular, the city will expand the "G-Festa," an integrated festival brand centered on autumn, to operate throughout the year, offering a variety of attractions in all four seasons. Through events such as the May 18 Commemoration, Music Festival, Design Biennale, Kimchi Festival, Seochang Eulalia Festival, and Christmas Light Festival, Gwangju will establish itself as a year-round festival city. In October, the "Honam Tourism Culture Week," jointly organized by Gwangju, Jeonnam, and Jeonbuk, will feature various programs and promotional activities that connect the rich tourism, culture, history, and art resources of the Honam region.

Additionally, specialized programs such as "The Boy's Road" at half price, stay-type sports spectator tours, and accommodation festivals will be offered, along with a gourmet week that highlights Gwangju's strength as the "City of Taste" (Mihyang).

To enhance visitor convenience and accessibility to tourist sites, the city will also improve transportation, accommodation, and tourism information infrastructure. Initiatives include expanding demand-responsive transport (DRT), providing tourism maps on public transportation, operating GeoStay, creating Willow Village, expanding multilingual services on the tourism website, renewing the tourism guidebook, and increasing the availability of audio guides at tourist attractions.

Seochang Silver Grass Festival held last year. Photo by Gwangju City

To effectively promote the "Visit Gwangju Year," the city will develop a slogan, produce commemorative souvenirs, host press familiarization tours, utilize influencers and celebrities for marketing, conduct social media campaigns, and hold various events including the proclamation ceremony.

To attract international tourists, the city will engage in digital marketing using online platforms in Japan, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia, and plans to expand global tourist attraction efforts by participating in K-Tourism Roadshows and international travel fairs in collaboration with the Korea Tourism Organization.

Mayor Kang Gijung stated, "The purpose of the 2025 'Visit Gwangju Year' is to allow citizens and outside visitors to experience the true spirit and energy of Gwangju," adding, "We will thoroughly prepare for the Visit Gwangju Year to transform Gwangju into a city where tourism becomes a major industry."