The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced that it will hold a current issues review meeting on the afternoon of April 21 at the Daejeon Confucian Traditional Ritual Hall (Daejeon Byeolseo), targeting officials in charge of tourism development from 15 metropolitan and provincial governments.
During this meeting, the ministry plans to review the progress of major projects such as metropolitan tourism development projects, tourism hub city development projects, competition-based regional tourism development projects, and the K-Tourism Island initiative. The ministry will also diagnose the causes of underperforming projects and focus on discussing central government support measures. In addition, the ministry will provide guidance on the procedures and methods for implementing the "Small-Scale Tourism Complex System," which will take effect from April 23. The ministry will also gather opinions from local governments on the performance management system for tourism development projects preparing for the introduction of the new system, necessary tourism legislation reforms, and tourism development projects aimed at stabilizing people's livelihoods.
The "Small-Scale Tourism Complex System" was introduced to revitalize the economy and tourism in areas with declining populations. The authority to designate tourism complexes and approve development plans in these areas will be transferred from provincial governors to mayors, county heads, or district chiefs. The required area size will be relaxed from the existing standard for tourism complexes (over 500,000 square meters) to between 50,000 and 300,000 square meters. In addition, the requirement for essential tourism facilities will be reduced from at least three types to at least two types.
The ministry also announced plans to expand the current issues review meetings, which are held semiannually, in order to strengthen communication between central and local governments on tourism policy and to develop field-oriented policies.
Kim Geunho, Director General for Tourism Industry Policy at the ministry, stated, "This meeting is a meaningful occasion for the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and tourism development officials from 15 cities and provinces to come together, communicate, and consider ways to invigorate local economies through tourism. I hope that local governments will actively promote and utilize the newly introduced 'Small-Scale Tourism Complex System' to encourage private investment."
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