Gapyeong County Selected for Final Round of "2026 Open Tourism Site" Contest
Jaraseom Island, Petite France & Italian Village, and Garden of Morning Calm Arboretum Chosen
Gapyeong County in Gyeonggi Province has been finally selected for the "2026 Open Tourism Environment Creation Contest Project," hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and implemented by the Korea Tourism Organization. Three major tourist attractions within the county-Jaraseom Island, Petite France & Italian Village, and the Garden of Morning Calm Arboretum-were simultaneously chosen, making Gapyeong the only basic local government in Gyeonggi Province to be selected.
The Open Tourism Site Creation Project, a national contest launched in 2015, aims to create environments where everyone-including people with disabilities, the elderly, and families with infants-can enjoy tourism without inconvenience.
With this selection, each tourist site will receive a total of 500 million won in support, consisting of 250 million won in national funding and 250 million won in county funding. As three tourist sites have been selected, Gapyeong County has secured a total project budget of 1.5 billion won.
The selected sites-Jaraseom Island, Petite France & Italian Village, and the Garden of Morning Calm Arboretum-were recommended based on a comprehensive evaluation that considered monthly visitor statistics from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s tourism knowledge information system, search indices for popular tourist destinations in Gapyeong from Korea Tourism Data Lab, Gapyeong County’s tourist visitation statistics, selection status in the "Top 100 Korean Tourism Sites" by the Korea Tourism Organization, and awards related to tourism attractiveness from major institutions.
Gapyeong County has been finally selected for the "2026 Open Tourism Environment Creation Contest Project," hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and implemented by the Korea Tourism Organization. The photo shows the 2025 Barrier-Free Tourism Governance General Meeting Forum. Provided by Gapyeong County.
An official from Gapyeong County stated, "We plan to gradually implement facility improvements, provide tourism environment information, and conduct training for staff to create a barrier-free tourism environment at the selected sites. Our goal is to develop Gapyeong County into a top tourism city in Korea, where anyone from tourism-vulnerable groups can comfortably visit and enjoy a barrier-free, open tourism destination."
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