S. Korea aims for 30 million foreign visitors with tourism-transport overhaul

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport are tearing down policy barriers between tourism and transport to attract 30 million foreign visitors and revitalize regional economies. The two ministries plan to overhaul the entire visitor experience in one integrated effort — from activating regional airports as entry points to building seamless public transit connections — and spread the economic benefits of inbound tourism across the country.

The two ministries held the third session of the Tourism-Transport Policy Council at Government Complex Sejong on Monday.

Co-chaired by director-general-level officials from both ministries, the council is a problem-solving consultative body launched in May to break down inter-ministry barriers and strengthen on-the-ground policy support. About eight key officials responsible for formulating and implementing tourism and transport policy from each ministry participate, with the primary goal of swiftly removing obstacles that foreign visitors encounter during entry and travel within Korea.

At the third session, the two sides reviewed the progress and outstanding issues of ongoing collaborative tasks while discussing a range of measures to improve mobility for inbound tourists. Key agenda items included ways to boost regional airport activity; expansion of open-loop payment systems that allow travelers to pay fares using general-purpose credit or debit cards without a dedicated transit card; measures to improve foreign tourists' access to rail and bus services; taxi service improvements; map service enhancements; and plans to develop a long-stay tourism brand.

In addition, the two ministries will continue to follow up on tasks identified through the Regional Tourism Activation Cooperation Forums linked to regional airports, held this year in Daegu in April, Busan in May and Yangyang in September. A comprehensive forum is planned for December at the National Assembly to gather input from the public and experts, with the findings to be actively incorporated into the joint 2027 project plan.

Kang Jeong-won, director general of the Culture Ministry's tourism policy bureau, said spreading the record-breaking inbound visitor numbers to the regions is the key challenge on the road to welcoming 30 million foreign tourists. "The organic combination of the Culture Ministry's ability to develop compelling content and market Korea with the Land Ministry's solid aviation and transport infrastructure is essential," Kang said. "We will work to improve 'K-tourism' marketing and transport readiness so that foreign visitors can travel without inconvenience throughout their entire journey and fully experience the appeal of Korea."

Park Jae-soon, director general of the Land Ministry's transport and logistics bureau, said the ministry would expand international routes at regional airports by increasing available flight slots and giving priority allocation to inbound flights, and would improve rail, bus and taxi services as well as payment environments to ensure smooth travel from airport arrival to regional destinations. "Through close cooperation with the Culture Ministry, we will make regional airports a new gateway for foreign visitors," Park said.