Culture minister vows to nurture high-tech tourism startups

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Park Yang-woo experiences one of the tour programs developed by tourism venture Unique Good Company during his visit to the firm in Seoul, Wednesday. / Yonhap

By Jun Ji-hye

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Park Yang-woo highlighted the need to apply fifth-generation (5G) networks and other Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies to the tourism industry, vowing to support tourism ventures with creative ideas, Wednesday.

Park said increasing demand for travel and the rapid evolution of new technologies were creating new opportunities for tourism companies, especially for passionate startups that were unafraid of challenges.

“The ministry will be dedicated to supporting tourism companies to nurture the industry and create jobs,” Park said during a meeting with CEOs of eight tourism ventures in Seoul, noting the government aims to attract more than 20 million foreign tourists this year.

Ahn Young-bae, president of the Korea Tourism Organization, also participated in the meeting.

Park said the government will increase financial help and other administrative support for tourism ventures, vowing to push for a 9.85 billion won ($8.3 million) project to help small and medium firms attract investment and make inroads into overseas markets.

“The ministry will also do its utmost to improve regulations that have hampered development of the industry,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Park visited Unique Good Company that was selected by the ministry last year as the best tourism venture in terms of growth.

Unique Good Company has developed tour programs utilizing information and communications technologies. The programs, which people can enjoy via a mobile phone, have been released in popular tourist spots around the nation, offering unique and exciting experiences.

During the visit, Park experienced the short version of one of the company's programs.

“Tour programs developed by Unique Good Company are the best example of integration between new technologies and tourist spots,” Park said. “These kinds of business items have great growth potential in this new industrial environment.”

Park said the ministry will reflect various opinions and views collected during the meeting in establishing its policies to nurture tourism startups.