Busan selects 10 businesses for nation’s first ‘pet-friendly space’ certification

[Financial News] Busan is introducing the nation’s first certification program for pet-friendly spaces, awarding certificates to businesses operating local pet-service facilities that excel in hygiene and safety, as it moves to foster the related industry.
Busan City and the Busan Economic Promotion Agency will hold Pet-Friendly Partners Day on the afternoon of the 15th at Illow, Busan’s first pet-friendly space, located in Gijang County.
About 30 people, including Mayor Jeon Jae-su and representatives of pet-friendly-space businesses, will attend the event, where certificates will be presented to 10 certified pet-friendly-space businesses.
The first group of designated pet-friendly spaces comprises three restaurants that allow pets, two pet-friendly accommodations, two grooming salons, and three boarding (care) facilities.
Selected businesses will receive certificates issued in the name of the Busan mayor and plaques, along with benefits such as tailored support to build their capabilities and promotional assistance. Certification is valid for three years from the date of selection.
Each business will receive 9 million won to support facility improvements, capacity building and promotion. The city also plans to support joint promotion and promotional events for certified businesses in the second and third years after selection.
The city plans to lay the groundwork for growing the local pet industry through programs supporting startups, research and development (R&D), and market development. It aims to use its newly launched pet-friendly-space certification, introduced for the first time this year, to build the pet-service industry into a distinctive Busan brand and generate new demand for the industry.
At a partners’ meeting following the certification ceremony, participants will listen to certified businesses’ candid views and engage with them, and work together to develop policies to foster the pet industry.
Mayor Jeon Jae-su said, “I hope the businesses certified under Busan’s pet-friendly-space program will inject new vitality into the local economy and establish themselves as leading players in the pet economy market.”
[email protected] Kwon Byeong-seok Reporter