Gyeonggi Province to Turn 42 Industrial Sites into Tourist Attractions

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Park No-hun] Gyeonggi Province and the Gyeonggi Tourism Organization will formally launch an industrial tourism project this year that utilizes 42 industrial sites, including Anseong Farm Land and Hyundai Motor Studio in Goyang, as tourism resources.

Industrial tourism is a new tourism model that leverages industrial sites, products, and other facilities with cultural or social value as tourism resources.

Representative examples include visiting factories to observe food processing procedures, visiting company exhibition halls, and experiencing hands-on craft production of traditional handicrafts.

The province and Gyeonggi Tourism Organization selected 42 locations capable of operating industrial tourism programs this year following preliminary surveys and other investigations.

The 42 locations cover industrial sites across 16 fields, including technology, cosmetics manufacturing, agriculture and livestock, pottery, and resource recycling.

Major sites include Hyundai Motor Studio in Goyang, a domestic experience-based automotive theme park.

Located in Ilsanseo-gu, Goyang, the studio is noted for its significant potential for industrial tourism utilization through vehicle exhibitions and test-drive programs.

Also included are Seoul Dairy Cooperative (Yangju), Asia's largest dairy processing plant; Letterpress Printing Museum (Paju), where visitors can experience printing using metal type; and Goodsool Distillery (Pyeongtaek), which recreates the taste and aroma of traditional Korean alcohol.

An e-book introducing the 42 industrial tourism resources in Gyeonggi Province and an electronic guide map are available on the Gyeonggi Tourism Portal website (ggtour.or.kr) in the 'Publications' section.

Starting in February, the province plans to encourage visitor participation by developing and supporting tourism products that connect the 42 industrial sites with nearby attractions, while promoting the appeal of educational and experience-based tourism resources.

Additionally, the province plans to introduce industrial tourism resources within Gyeonggi Province to tourists and generate interest through content creation and promotional support to strengthen awareness of industrial tourism.

Educational fam tours for the travel industry to commercialize industrial tourism resources as travel packages will proceed with small-scale groups according to COVID-19 quarantine measures, with detailed programs operated flexibly while adhering to government health guidelines.

Choi Yong-hun, Director of Tourism at Gyeonggi Province, said, "We expect that the industrial tourism revitalization project, which we are launching in full scale this year, will invigorate tourism and the industrial economy in Gyeonggi Province," and added, "We will do our utmost to make Gyeonggi Province a mecca of industrial tourism that domestic and international tourists enjoy visiting."