Jeonnam Province, Korea Airports Corporation, and Jeonnam Tourism Foundation Join Forces to Support the Travel Industry

Cooperation to Promote Jeonnam Tourism Linked to Muan International Airport

Jeonnam Tourism Promotion Business Agreement Site. Provided by Jeonnam Province

On January 21, Jeonnam Province signed a memorandum of understanding with Korea Airports Corporation and Jeonnam Tourism Foundation to support the travel industry linked to Muan International Airport and to promote tourism in Jeonnam.

The agreement was initiated to alleviate the burden on the local travel industry, which has been struggling due to the prolonged suspension of flights at Muan Airport, and to establish a practical response system for recovering tourism demand amid uncertain airport operation conditions.

Under the agreement, the three organizations will cooperate on the following: joint operation of travel agency incentives utilizing local airport international routes; collaboration on the development and online/offline marketing of tourism products; customized marketing through data sharing; and ongoing discovery of joint cooperation projects related to Muan International Airport.

In particular, an incentive program will be implemented for travel agencies that attract tourists to Jeonnam, which is expected to serve as a catalyst for easing the operational burden of the local travel industry in the short term.

Jeonnam Province plans to expand this agreement beyond one-time support, aiming to develop it into a comprehensive support initiative for the travel industry by linking already secured government funds with its own projects.

Accordingly, Jeonnam Province will utilize 600 million won in government funding allocated for tourism product development to support the creation and promotion of Jeonnam-specialized tourism products. Additionally, 100 million won will be provided for training the travel industry, with a focus on capacity-building programs for the tourism sector in Gwangju and Jeonnam.

Furthermore, by securing 1 billion won in national funding for the establishment of a Jeonnam Tourism Enterprise Support Center, the province will foster local tourism companies, promote startups and business development, and nurture professional talent to build a mid- to long-term foundation for the tourism industry.

In addition, Jeonnam Province plans to focus on overseas marketing-such as local promotions, joint sales campaigns, and Jeonnam tourism presentations-using 1.3 billion won in funding to ensure that developed tourism products for attracting foreign tourists are actually sold and promoted in overseas markets.

Choi Youngjoo, Director of Tourism and Sports at Jeonnam Province, stated, "Although the future operational environment of Muan International Airport remains uncertain, it is all the more important to prepare both short-term support and mid- to long-term measures in times like these. Through this agreement, we will steadily promote tangible support for the travel industry and the recovery of the tourism market by linking projects with the central government, Gwangju City, and public tourism institutions."