Culture ministry sets 6.1 billion won in incentives for regional tourism contest

The culture ministry said Monday it has fixed the financial incentive for local governments that win a regional tourism innovation competition at 6.1 billion won ($4.49 million), a pool of special grants it will distribute among 13 winners.

The competition, named "Star of Korean Tourism," is the first project of a regional tourism policy council launched in July. It will award a grand prize to one metropolitan and one basic-level local government, a top prize to two in each category, and an excellence award to seven basic-level governments, with the money allocated on a graded basis.

Local governments across the country may apply in one of four categories — tourism product innovation, tourism consumption promotion, tourism trust recovery and tourism income villages — until Oct. 20. Judging will run from late October to early December, with an awards ceremony in December.

"The culture ministry is putting policy emphasis on boldly expanding the flow of tourism, which is concentrated in the capital region, into the regions, including by creating tourism zones centered on local airports," said Kang Jung-won, head of the ministry's tourism policy office. "I hope the tourism policy ideas of the local governments selected in this competition become innovations that grow the regions and the country together."