Gyeonggi Province Creates 'Barrier-Free Tourism' Environment for Equal and Comfortable Travel Experiences

[Suwon Ilbo=Park No-hoon] Gyeonggi Province is creating a barrier-free tourism environment where everyone, including people with disabilities, elderly people, and those accompanying infants and young children, can travel comfortably.

To this end, the province announced on the 7th that it will pursue improvements to the spatial environment at tourist attractions in cities and counties, operate accessible transportation for people with disabilities, and produce barrier-free tourism online content this year.

First, the province will recruit applications for improvements to the spatial environment of tourist attractions across 31 cities and counties in 2021.

The recruitment areas will focus on pedestrian pathway improvements through removal of sidewalk level differences and convenience facility improvements such as installation of family restrooms, providing support for facility improvements to enhance accessibility.

Applications will be accepted until the 23rd, and tourist attractions wishing to participate may apply to their respective city or county offices during the designated period.

Through recruitment from cities and counties, the province will select three or more tourist attractions and actively gather opinions from tourism-vulnerable groups and experts to create an environment centered on actual user needs.

Additionally, the province will continue the Gyeonggi Travel Nourish program, which operates large buses equipped with wheelchair lifts (two vehicles) to provide mobility convenience for people with disabilities visiting tourist attractions in the province.

This year, in preparation for the COVID-19 situation, the province plans to develop and operate non-face-to-face tourism courses such as appreciation of natural scenery.

Also, the province plans to expand the target for 'visiting driving tours' without stops that operate within a round-trip of two hours to include all disability welfare facilities in the province, providing a boost to daily life.

In addition, the province plans to produce online content that allows confirmation of barrier-free tourism information about tourist attractions and accommodation facilities, post it on the Gyeonggi Tourism Portal (ggtour.or.kr), and provide access to related information with a sense of presence without needing to visit in person. The province also plans to conduct awareness improvement education for tourism industry workers in charge of serving tourism-vulnerable groups through both online and offline methods to enhance their receptiveness to tourism-vulnerable groups.

Choi Yong-hun, head of the Tourism Division of Gyeonggi Province, stated, "While Gyeonggi Province is full of diverse tourism resources such as historic culture and natural ecology, it is unfortunate that not everyone has equal opportunities to enjoy tourism. Through city and county recruitment-based physical environmental improvements at tourist attractions and continuous information provision, we will work to establish Gyeonggi Province's image as a barrier-free tourism city."