K-Content Tourism Marketing Academy Seeks Participants, Offers Support to Commercialize Ideas

[Financial News] A program is being run to identify tourism ideas that combine K-content with Busan's tourism resources and support their on-site testing and commercialization.
Busan City said on the 16th that it is recruiting participants for the second cohort of the K-Content Tourism Marketing Academy in partnership with the Busan Tourism Organization (BTO).
The second cohort will introduce a “validation-focused fast track” that combines the existing advanced and further-development courses. The focus is on verifying product appeal and business viability on the ground, enabling a swift response to the rapidly changing tourism market and linking the process to actual market entry.
In particular, it will strengthen on-site validation and follow-up support in areas with strong commercialization potential.
The basic course will target aspiring entrepreneurs, university students and others, identifying and developing tourism ideas in six fields: marine tourism, gastronomy, wellness, beauty, esports and K-culture. The top team will receive a prize of up to 2 million won and the opportunity to join the integrated advanced and further-development course.
The integrated advanced and further-development course will target Busan-headquartered companies with the capacity to develop and commercialize tourism products, focusing on new tourism content in four fields: marine tourism, gastronomy, beauty and wellness. Selected companies will receive up to 19 million won each in funding for demonstration projects, and will be supported in commercializing their ideas through on-site testing, expert coaching and investment connections.
Individuals (or teams) and companies wishing to participate can apply by email to the academy secretariat by the 26th.
Na Yun-bin, head of the city's Tourism Content Industry Bureau, said, “In the first cohort, we saw ideas take shape as actual tourism products and their business viability get verified. In the second cohort, we will use the validation-focused fast track to help companies quickly gauge market response and improve their products.”

[email protected] Kwon Byeong-seok Reporter