Data-Driven Strategy for Revitalizing Food Tourism
Recognized for Achieving Regionally Tailored Results
Gimpo City in Gyeonggi Province (Mayor: Kim Byungsoo) announced on the 19th that it had won the Excellence Award (President of Korea Tourism Organization Award) and a prize of 1 million won at the "2025 Korea Tourism Data Lab Best Practice Competition," hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and organized by the Korea Tourism Organization.
This competition was established to promote a culture of data utilization in tourism-related decision-making processes. The theme required participants to present cases where tourism data was combined with data from other fields to achieve tangible results. Local governments, public institutions, and academia from across the country participated in fierce competition.
From Gimpo City, a team of four staff members from the Tourism Promotion Division, led by officials Na Gaeun and Jang Minho, jointly planned and submitted the "Data-Based Strategy for Revitalizing Gimpo's Food Tourism." This entry was selected as a representative case, earning the honor of being featured in the best practices collection and winning the Excellence Award.
This strategy was highly praised for integrating and analyzing tourism behavior data from the Korea Tourism Data Lab, local food consumption patterns, and visitor characteristics at major tourist attractions. It presented practical policy models, such as identifying customized food tourism content for visitors and proposing gourmet travel courses based on local specialties.
In particular, the strategy was recognized for its three-step system: analyzing food preferences by tourist type, identifying food consumption concentration by time and region, and designing food tourism packages linked to local festivals and experience programs. This approach led to differentiated measures to vitalize gourmet tourism unique to Gimpo.
A member of the award-winning team commented, "Food tourism is more than just an experience; it is an important medium for feeling Gimpo's culture and locality," adding, "We will continue to invigorate the local economy and enhance tourism appeal through data-driven policies."
Gimpo City plans to further expand data-driven administration and public-private cooperation, developing food tourism programs linked to local resources such as the "Gimpo 5 Flavors Road."
The award ceremony is scheduled to take place on October 23 at the Nine Tree Premier ROKAUS Hotel in Yongsan, Seoul.
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