Significant Expansion of Tourism Content and Infrastructure
From Transit-Oriented Visits to Stay-and-Enjoy Tourism
Aiming for 10 Million Tourists Next Year
Focusing on Global Marketing Leveraging K-Culture
Pohang City has completely moved away from its previous transit-oriented tourism structure and has embarked on a transformation to become a stay-type tourism city.
A ‘Re-Trip Festival City’ to Stay and Experience: A Major Transformation into a Stay-Type Tourism City. Provided by Pohang City
The city aims to welcome 10 million tourists by 2026 by expanding local specialty festivals and accommodation infrastructure, and by implementing global marketing strategies in conjunction with K-content.
This year, the city attracted tourists with a variety of festivals, including the Homigot Korean New Year Sunrise Festival, the Pohang International Fireworks Festival, the Yeongildae Music & Camping Festa, and the Healing Feeling Railway Forest Night Walk. In particular, the Songdo Beach Retro Festival and the Summer Water Pohang Festival led the trend for summer night seaside festivals, while unique nighttime attractions such as the APEC Summit Commemorative Fireworks & Drone Show, Songdo Nakhwa Nori, and Moonlight Pocha also drew attention.
To develop festivals into a structure that connects accommodation, spending, and experiences, the city is strengthening digital promotion through official social media video content, influencer collaborations, and hashtag campaigns. It is also promoting a virtuous cycle between tourism and the local economy through content dissemination strategies at each stage of events-before, during, and after-as well as through models linking local commercial districts.
In addition, the Pohang City Tour is evolving into a stay-type tourism product by introducing one-night, two-day courses and customized group itineraries.
The accommodation infrastructure, which forms the foundation of stay-type tourism, is also rapidly expanding. Over the past year, the number of tourist hotels increased from five to seven, and the number of hostels grew from four to six. Notably, the number of newly registered foreign tourist homestays reached 68 this year alone, far surpassing the cumulative total of 32 registered over the previous six years, indicating a significant surge.
Alongside the quantitative expansion of accommodation facilities, the city is also focusing on improving facility environments, enhancing service quality, and strengthening safety and hygiene management. In addition, it operates a ‘Tourism Academy’ to provide professional training for tourism workers and citizens, striving to foster a citizen-driven tourism ecosystem.
The city is strengthening global promotion by focusing on content that combines K-drama filming locations, local gastronomy, and marine tourism. By utilizing domestic and international influencers for social media promotion, participating in international tourism expos, and hosting the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Annual Summit, the city has diversified its promotional channels and expanded the base of overseas tourism demand.
Region-specific marketing efforts are also underway, including tourism briefings and local radio promotions targeting the Japanese travel industry, participation in the Guangzhou International Travel Fair in China, and influencer familiarization tours through Chinese social media. In the future, the city plans to promote new media marketing using the Chinese platform Xiaohongshu and AI show hosts.
Pohang City has established stay-type tourism hubs through regional tourism development projects such as the Guryongpo Village Hotel ‘ALGO’ and ‘Guryongpo Pieramall & Food Lab.’ Other key initiatives supporting stay-type tourism include the Janggi-myeon Hometown Olleh (dual residency) project, the Heunghae Odo Columnar Joint Trail development, and the improvement of nighttime scenery at the Homigot Sunrise Plaza.
Notably, with Bogyeongsa Temple and Yeongildae Beach selected for the 2026 Accessible Tourism Destination Project, the city is set to launch inclusive tourism initiatives that encompass tourism-vulnerable groups.
The city is leveraging exchanges with 35 overseas sister and friendship cities in 12 countries as tourism assets. It plans to expand global stay-type tourism demand by inviting overseas delegations to the Pohang International Fireworks Festival and by attracting international conferences in collaboration with the Secretariat of the Association of North East Asia Regional Governments (NEAR).
Mayor Lee Kangdeok stated, "Based on the tourism promotion expertise we have accumulated over the years, we will foster Pohang as a global, competitive, marine cultural stay-type hub city," adding, "Through the implementation of diversified tourism projects and the hosting of various international conferences, we will drive remarkable growth in the local tourism industry."
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