Half-price travel returns in fall, covering meals to accommodation

9 new destinations added for fall season

Travelers can recoup up to 140,000 won in expenses

Program generates 3.1 times its subsidy budget in local spending

Services to roll out sequentially from late August

A government program that cuts travel costs in half while drawing visitors to depopulating regions will continue into the fall season.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced Thursday that it has selected nine new regions to join the second-half lineup of its "Regional Love Vacation Support" half-price travel program, run in partnership with the Korea Tourism Organization. The new destinations are Hwacheon-gun in Gangwon Province; Goseong-gun, Sancheong-gun and Hamyang-gun in South Gyeongsang Province; Andong and Yeongcheon in North Gyeongsang Province; Seocheon-gun and Taean-gun in South Chungcheong Province; and Jangheung-gun in South Jeolla Province.

Under the program, travelers who visit designated rural depopulating areas receive a refund of half their travel expenses in the form of mobile regional gift vouchers. The refund is capped at 100,000 won ($72) per person, or 140,000 won for young adults. The program launched in April across 16 regions, including Pyeongchang-gun in Gangwon Province, Jecheon in North Chungcheong Province, Gochang-gun in North Jeolla Province, Gangjin-gun in South Jeolla Province and Miryang in South Gyeongsang Province.

A sculpture from the Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival in Gangwon Province [Korea Tourism Organization]

An impact assessment of the 16 first-half regions, conducted by Korea Data Research Institute on behalf of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization, found that 5.2 billion won ($3.79 million) in refund subsidies disbursed through June generated at least 16.2 billion won in local spending — a return of at least 3.1 times the amount invested. Food and beverages accounted for 45.5 percent of spending, followed by accommodation at 32.2 percent, shopping and local specialty products at 10.2 percent, and tourism and experiential activities at 6.3 percent. Some 76.4 percent of participants said they spent more than they otherwise would have because they anticipated the refund.

The program also brought in new travel demand. Some 31.2 percent of participants took trips they had not originally planned, and 50.0 percent changed their destination to a half-price travel region, meaning 81.2 percent of all participants traveled specifically because of the program. More than half — 56.3 percent — were visiting their destination for the first time, demonstrating the program's effect in drawing new visitors to these areas.

The nine newly selected regions will complete preparatory work and begin services sequentially from late August. Among the first-half participants, Miryang, Geochang-gun, Wando-gun and Yeonggwang-gun have secured additional funding to continue the program in the second half of the year.

Detailed information is available on the "Everywhere in Korea" tourism portal, and applications are accepted through local government websites.

Kang Jeong-won, director general of tourism policy at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said the half-price travel program "effectively reduces the financial burden of travel for the public while creating new visitors and resident populations for depopulating regions." He added that the ministry would "work closely with local governments to ensure the enthusiastic public response seen across the 16 first-half regions carries through into the fall."

terry@heraldcorp.com