Gyeonggi Province Invests 1.45 Billion Won to Develop Gyeonggi Sea into a Popular Tourist Destination

[Suwon Ilbo=Park No-hoon] Gyeonggi Province announced on the 18th that it will promote the development of the Gyeonggi Sea into a tourist destination by leveraging abundant marine leisure infrastructure, pristine natural environments, and geographic proximity to the Seoul metropolitan area along the Gyeonggi Province West Coast.

To this end, the province will invest approximately 1.45 billion won this year in a total of six projects including ▲creation of specialized streets for Gyeonggi Sea ▲development of Gyeonggi coastal trails (sea routes) ▲support for regional festivals at Gyeonggi Sea ▲trial theme tours of Gyeonggi Sea ▲operation of specialized tour buses for Gyeonggi Sea ▲operation of traveling Gyeonggi Sea promotion centers.

Working with the Gyeonggi Tourism Organization, the province will first select two specialized streets with the goal of securing attractive tourism content offered by Gyeonggi Sea, then develop them into regional tourism hubs by operating competitive tourism products and programs.

In addition, by connecting to existing tourism-related projects, the province will develop Gyeonggi coastal trails (sea routes) connecting 262km through the Gyeonggi perimeter path covering Pyeongtaek, Hwaseong, Ansan, Siheung, Bucheon, and Gimpo, and in cooperation with cities and counties, will operate various experience programs centered on the sea, such as boat ride experiences, at regional festivals.

The province will also operate pilot theme tours of Gyeonggi Sea with a one-night, two-day experience program in connection with excellent marine facilities such as Jebu Marina and the Marine Safety Experience Center and fishing village experience programs, and will operate two specialized Gyeonggi Sea tour bus routes for foreign tourists.

Additionally, the province will hold tourism promotion events taking the COVID-19 situation into account around July to August and will conduct intensive promotional activities for Gyeonggi Sea tourism content.

Moving forward, the province plans to secure economic stability for local communities by continuously promoting sea tourism activities during off-season periods and weekdays to attract steady streams of tourists.

Choi Yong-hoon, head of the Tourism Division of Gyeonggi Province, stated, "Gyeonggi Sea is a sufficiently competitive tourist destination, as 84% of visitors express willingness to return," adding, "This year, we will pursue substantive projects to establish Gyeonggi Sea as an attractive tourist destination for all citizens."

Meanwhile, last year, the province raised awareness of Gyeonggi Sea by producing photographic and video content and distributing it online through social media (SNS), and conducted public online events featuring tourism of Gyeonggi Sea.

The province also operated Gyeonggi Sea promotion centers at domestic exhibitions and promoted "Gyeonggi Sea" through various other methods.