2025 Barrier-Free Tourism Governance General Assembly and Forum Held
Barrier-Free Tourism Environments to Be Established at Three Sites Including Mureung Byeolyucheonji Starting Next Year
Donghae City in Gangwon Province has joined hands with the Korea Tourism Organization to create an open tourism site and promote barrier-free tourism in 2026.
Donghae City is signing a business agreement with the Korea Tourism Organization to create an open tourism site and promote barrier-free tourism in 2026. Photo by Donghae City
On December 16, the 2025 Barrier-Free Tourism Governance General Assembly and Forum was held at the Grand Ballroom of The Westin Josun Seoul, with about 200 participants from local governments and related organizations involved in the creation of barrier-free tourism environments.
This event, organized by the Korea Tourism Organization, was held to strengthen cooperation among relevant institutions and secure new momentum for regional development, as the foundation for barrier-free tourism has reached a certain level with the establishment of 182 open tourism sites nationwide since 2015.
On this day, Donghae City, represented by Deputy Mayor Kim Jeongyun, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Korea Tourism Organization, agreeing to cooperate for the creation of open tourism sites and the promotion of barrier-free tourism in 2026. Through this agreement, the two parties plan to establish a cooperative system to enhance the rights and interests of people with disabilities in the tourism sector and to expand their participation in society.
The business agreement includes mutual cooperation on the creation and promotion of open tourism sites applying universal design, development of barrier-free tourism content within these sites, disability awareness training for tourism industry workers, provision of information on the barrier-free open tourism platform, as well as support for monitoring, improvement, and performance management to ensure the continuous maintenance of open tourism sites after their establishment.
It also details specific cooperation measures such as research, studies, and policy development related to tourism for mobility-impaired groups, exchanges and collaboration leveraging the projects and expertise of both organizations, and the formation and operation of a working-level consultative body for the efficient implementation of the agreement.
With this agreement, the creation of barrier-free environments to improve accessibility and convenience at next year's designated open tourism sites-Mureung Byeolyucheonji, Mureung Health Forest, and Dojjaebigol Sky Valley & Haerang Observatory-is expected to gain further momentum.
Deputy Mayor Kim Jeongyun stated, "Tourist destinations should be places where everyone can travel safely and comfortably. As demand for barrier-free tourism continues to rise, we will continue to build an inclusive tourism environment, further enhance our tourism competitiveness, and do our utmost to expand travel opportunities for vulnerable groups."
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