Seoul tourism policy review (English)
Abstract
The Korean national government has played a central role in the development of tourism infrastructure and marketing of its tourism assets through its tourism policy apparatus, bringing the inbound visitor figure up to over 17 million in 2016. The Korea... See More +
The Korean national government has played a central role in the development of tourism infrastructure and marketing of its tourism assets through its tourism policy apparatus, bringing the inbound visitor figure up to over 17 million in 2016. The Korea tourism industry contributes significantly to export earnings, job creation and regional development. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, the direct contribution of Korea's tourism to GDP in 2016 was 28,939 billion KRW (1.8 percent of GDP). And the total contribution of tourism to GDP (including wider effects from investment, the supply chain and induced income impacts) was 83,013.8 billion KRW in 2016 (5.1 percent of GDP). Tourism generated 601,000 jobs directly in 2016 (2.3 percent of total employment). The total contribution of tourism to employment was 1,528,000 jobs in 2016 (5.8 percent of total employment). Since the local autonomy was launched in 1995, local governments have become important public sector players in implementation of tourism policies. Moreover, there has been growing momentum to promote greater autonomy in local affairs and regional politics, in line with an increased focus on local governance and civic participation. While authority for tourism policy has been quite well transferred from national government to local governments, national government still retains some power over the administration of the country's tourism policy mainly through approval of tourism development and distribution of budget. The tourism strategy of the SMG is being updated and sharpened since its launch to more closely align the strategy with the fast-changing market conditions or political changes. But still all the following comprehensive and individual tourism plans of the SMG have been based on the 10-year Tourism Development Master Plan of Korea and the 5-year Master Plan for Regional Tourism Development of the SMG. The process ensures that tourism plans of the SMG are basically aligned and coordinated with the long-term national strategy.
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