Mud Festival rakes in income

By Lee Hyo-sik

The Boryeong Mud Festival, one of Korea’s most popular festivals among international visitors, earned 157 million won ($148,000) in revenue this year by charging visitors for using some of its rides and other entertainment facilities, Boryeong City said Monday.

It was the first time for the festival to generate income in its 14 year history.

The event took place on Daecheon Beach in Boryeong City, South Chungcheong Province, on July 16 to 24.

The city said it spent a total of 1.8 billion won to organize the 9-day festival this year, down 43 percent from 3.2 billion won in 2010, attracting nearly 2.2 million Korean and non-Korean tourists.

During the festival, visitors enjoyed mud wrestling, mud slides and even swimming in the mega-mud tub. Other programs included a special exhibition and sale and a yacht parade.

“This year, we set up an area called “Paid Zone” where visitors pay 5,000 won per person and enjoy 10 of our most entertaining rides and programs, including an air-bounce ride. For the first time, we decided to charge fees to raise funds to improve our facilities and provide better customer service,” said Bang Dae-gil, tourism division manager at Boryeong City. The festival collected 157 million won from about 33,200 tourists.

Bang called the strategy successful, saying only a few visitors complained about having to pay.

“Operating the Paid Zone was a success as it drew virtually no complaints, while boosting customer satisfaction. According to our survey, individuals having access to the Paid Zone showed a higher level of satisfaction than those who did not,” the manager said.

He also said the outright majority of 220,000 foreign visitors rated the festival highly, adding the event this year is estimated to create additional 50 billion won income for the regional economy.