Minister Choi Hwiyoung: "Tourism Is a Future Growth Engine... Now Is the Opportunity with Global Interest in K-Culture"

"Tourism as a Future Growth Engine"
Choi Hwiyoung Highlights Government's Commitment,
Citing Japan's Success and the Global Rise of K-Culture

"Tourism is a future growth engine. With global interest in Korean culture at an all-time high, I believe now is a golden opportunity. I hope this will serve as a good starting point for discussions on the development of the tourism industry."

Choi Hwiyoung, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, made these remarks at the launch ceremony of the K-Tourism Innovation Task Force held at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Seoul on September 3, stating that the government will do its utmost to advance the tourism industry.

The K-Tourism Innovation Task Force is a public-private partnership established to address the challenges of increasing inbound tourism demand and revitalizing regional tourism. Minister Choi serves as the chairperson, and the team consists of 24 members, including officials from relevant government ministries, academic and industry experts, and representatives from related organizations. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, as the lead agency, plans to foster tourism as "the real growth engine for the Republic of Korea" through this task force.

Choi Hwiyoung, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, is delivering a greeting at the launch ceremony of the K-Tourism Innovation Task Force held on the 3rd at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Seoul in Jongno-gu, Seoul.
Photo by Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism

At the launch ceremony, Minister Choi emphasized that tourism is a future growth engine, highlighting the Japanese government's active efforts to attract a large number of foreign tourists as an example of strong government support.

Minister Choi stated, "Ten years ago, the number of foreign tourists visiting Japan and Korea was similar, and before that, we even had slightly more. But now, I understand that Japan receives twice as many foreign tourists as we do. We need to seriously consider what we may have done wrong and what Japan has done right." He added, "About ten years ago, the late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe provided significant support to the tourism industry."

An Heeja, Head of the Tourism Research Division at the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute, who delivered the keynote presentation, explained, "If we look at the trends in inbound tourism for Korea and Japan, the actual gap began to widen in 2014."

An Heeja noted, "From 2009 to 2013, Korea had more inbound tourists than Japan. During this period, Japan experienced the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and a diplomatic dispute with China." She continued, "In 2013, as part of Abenomics' growth strategy, Japan began to focus on developing the tourism industry at a national level. Japan surpassed 30 million inbound tourists for the first time in 2018 and attracted 36.87 million last year."

Last year, Korea welcomed 16.37 million inbound tourists, less than half of Japan's figure. As of July this year, the number of inbound tourists reached 10,559,166, and if the current trend continues, it is expected to surpass the record 17.5 million achieved in 2019. There is also growing anticipation that Korea may reach the milestone of 20 million inbound tourists for the first time. However, as Minister Choi pointed out, the gap with Japan remains significant.

Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Hwee Young Choi is sharing opinions on tourism policies with attendees at the launch ceremony of the K-Tourism Innovation Task Force held on the 3rd at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Seoul in Jongno-gu, Seoul.
Photo by Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism

Minister Choi emphasized that the global attention on K-culture presents a valuable opportunity. He said, "At the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) High-Level Dialogue on the Cultural Industry held in Gyeongju last week, I felt that global interest in our culture is rising significantly. Now, with Hallyu fans from around the world visiting Korea, this is a golden opportunity."

An Heeja also stressed, "It is necessary to disperse inbound tourists, who are currently concentrated in the Seoul metropolitan area, to the regions to revitalize local tourism. Strengthening accommodation and regional transportation connectivity, as well as expanding experiential products utilizing K-content, are also very important."

Minister Choi concluded, "Tourism is a key strategic industry to overcome economic stagnation and prevent regional extinction. We will not miss this opportunity, as K-culture captures the world's attention, and will quickly prepare comprehensive government-level measures."