The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, together with the Korea Tourism Organization, has unveiled the '88 Excellent Wellness Tourism Destinations' where travelers can heal their body and mind.
Until last year, 77 destinations were selected, and this year 11 new locations were designated and announced on the 9th. The 11 newly designated sites are Heidi House (Seoul), Trivium (Gyeonggi), Yakseokwon (Incheon), Cha Deokbun (Incheon), SMB Wellness Center (Busan), Haevichi Hotel & Resort (Jeju), Gyorae Natural Recreation Forest (Jeju), Gochang Wellpark City (Jeonbuk), Jeollanam-do Mental Health Healing Center (Jeonnam), Daeheungsa Temple (Jeonnam), and Hadong-gun Tea Culture Facility (Gyeongnam).
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The 88 Excellent Wellness Tourism Destinations are categorized into six themes: Nature and Forest Healing (26 locations), Beauty and Spa (21 locations), Healing and Meditation (20 locations), Korean Medicine (9 locations), Stay (8 locations), and Food (4 locations).
Jeju Gyorae Natural Recreation Forest newly designated as an excellent wellness tourism destination selected by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization (c) Photo by Korea Tourism Organization Photokorea
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization provide customized consulting for the excellent wellness tourism facilities with wellness tourism experts and advisory groups. Through demand surveys for each facility, they will strengthen strategic support in desired areas such as branding, promotion and marketing, and product sales, and improve the service quality of excellent wellness tourism destinations through phased advancement, as well as develop representative wellness tourism experience products.
Globally, due to increased national income and leisure time, diversification of tourism demand, and growing interest and demand for daily life recovery after COVID-19, the demand for wellness tourism that pursues healing and balance of body and mind is increasing. According to the Global Wellness Institute, the global wellness tourism market size in 2023 is approximately $830.2 billion and is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 10.2% until 2028.
Accordingly, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism plans to actively foster the wellness tourism industry. In particular, with the passage of the 'Healing Tourism Industry Promotion Act' at the National Assembly plenary session on the 20th of last month, a major turning point has been established for fostering the wellness tourism industry. The Ministry will prepare the necessary subordinate legislation for the implementation of the Healing Tourism Industry Act without delay and, together with the Korea Tourism Organization, will promote active overseas marketing such as training specialized personnel in the wellness tourism industry and hosting and participating in related domestic and international expos.
Kim Geun-ho, Director of Tourism Industry Policy at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, stated, "In line with the recent tourism trend pursuing both physical and mental health, it is important to develop and promote wellness tourism products that highlight regional characteristics unique to Korea." He added, "With the recent passage of the Healing Tourism Industry Act by the National Assembly, we will nurture wellness tourism as tourism content that enhances the global competitiveness of K-tourism."
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