40 Years of Korea-Japan Tourism Cooperation: Seeking Ways to Revitalize Regional Tourism and Attract Tourists from Third Countries

[Financial News] South Korea and Japan are seeking ways to cooperate in revitalizing regional tourism and attracting tourists from third countries. To mark the 40th anniversary of the launch of their council of tourism authorities, the two countries will discuss developing tourism products linking their regions and strengthening the foundation for cooperation.
According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) on the 9th, it will hold the 40th Korea-Japan Tourism Promotion Council and the Korea-Japan Tourism Business Forum with the Japan Tourism Agency in Mokpo City, Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City, from the 9th through the 10th. The council’s plenary session and the forum will take place on the 10th.
The council was launched in 1986 and has been held alternately in South Korea and Japan. It has continued annually, except for one postponement in 2020 due to COVID-19.
About 100 officials from the two governments, related institutions, and the tourism and aviation industries will attend this year’s event. Kang Jeong-won, director general of tourism policy at MCST, and Sasaki Gen, director of the International Tourism Division at the Japan Tourism Agency, will serve as chief representatives. The representatives of both countries are scheduled to sign an agreement expressing their intention to pursue a memorandum of cooperation in tourism.
South Korea will introduce its policies to promote inbound tourism, while Japan will present policies to encourage overseas travel by its citizens and revitalize regional tourism. Mokpo City and Wakayama Prefecture, as well as the Korea Tourism Organization and the Japan National Tourism Organization, will propose ways to expand exchanges. The travel industry associations of both countries will also present their proposals.
At the business forum, travel agencies, airlines, and academic experts will discuss cooperation in attracting tourists from outside the two countries, revitalizing regional tourism, and expanding travel to South Korea and Japan. They will also discuss developing joint tourism products linking the regions.
The program combines policy consultations with private-sector discussions on product development, aiming to translate government cooperation into actual tourism demand. It also focuses on expanding the destinations visited by tourists so that the benefits of increased exchanges reach regional areas.
After the event, participants will tour Gongsaengwon, Mokpo Modern History and Cultural Space, the maritime relics exhibition hall at the National Research Institute of Maritime Heritage, and the reconstructed ship of the Joseon envoys to Japan.
Kang said, "Going forward, we plan to expand tourism exchanges to local and regional areas and identify sustainable cooperation projects for the future."
[email protected] Jang In-seo Reporter