'2026 Gyeongnam Tourism Company IR & Demo Day' held in Changwon

Event aims to build investment base for regional tourism startups

Seoul pop-ups in Seongsu-dong and Bukchon draw about 10,000 visitors

Award recipients pose for a photo after the prize ceremony at the 2026 Gyeongnam Tourism Company IR & Demo Day. [South Gyeongsang Province]
Award recipients pose for a photo after the prize ceremony at the 2026 Gyeongnam Tourism Company IR & Demo Day. [South Gyeongsang Province]

South Gyeongsang Province is stepping up efforts to revitalize its tourism industry, hosting an investor showcase for local tourism startups and running large-scale promotional pop-up stores in Seoul to attract visitors from the greater metropolitan area.

The provincial government and the Gyeongnam Tourism Foundation held the "2026 Gyeongnam Tourism Company G-TOUR INVEST IR & Demo Day" at the Changwon Convention Center (CECO) on Tuesday. Part of the 2026 Gyeongnam Tourism Company Accelerating Program, the event brought together 10 local startups and five investment firms — Painters & Ventures, CNT Tech, ACNDC, Wadiz Partners and Future Play.

Following presentations and judging, Dari Maker Co., which offers customized workcation services combining child care and travel, took the top prize. Epuworld Co. and Alias Co. received the excellence award, while April's Moby Dick Lab and the Eogiya Dieocha Okgye Village Cooperative each earned an achievement award.

The five winning companies shared a total prize pool of 5 million won ($3,720) — 2 million won for the top prize, 1 million won each for the excellence awards and 500,000 won each for the achievement awards. One-on-one investment consultations were also held to explore follow-up funding opportunities.

Tourism promotion events at key Seoul locations also supported the regional push. As part of the "Gyeongnam Travel Across Seoul" campaign, a wellness pop-up called "Jirisan SOOM STATION" ran in Seongsu-dong from Thursday through Sunday, drawing about 8,000 visitors.

The pop-up featured programs allowing visitors to experience the tourism offerings of the Jirisan area. Through special travel packages tied to the event, 81 tourists from the greater metropolitan area visited the Jirisan region. A tourism summit and briefings for specialist media and travel agencies were also held at the venue to discuss regional tourism cooperation, timed to coincide with the enforcement of legislation promoting the healing tourism industry.

A follow-up pop-up, "Gyeongnam Travel in Bukchon," ran from Saturday through Monday at the Gyeongnam Welcome Center in Bukchon, Jongno-gu, drawing about 2,500 visitors over three days. The event introduced Gyeongnam tourism to foreign tourists and families through hanbok photo experiences, a travel preference test and a stamp tour. Combined, the two pop-ups in Seongsu-dong and Bukchon attracted about 10,000 visitors.

The province said it hopes the events will raise awareness of Gyeongnam tourism among metropolitan-area residents and encourage visits to the region. "We will focus our policy efforts on actively promoting Gyeongnam's distinctive tourism assets so that awareness translates into real visits and investment," said Kim Sang-won, director of the province's tourism development bureau.


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