An Exploratory Study on Political Direction and Improvement Issues for Social Tourism in Korea

Abstract

Social (welfare) tourism has recently become increasingly important as one of the major national government projects aimed at guaranteeing citizens rights and promoting public welfare. The social tourism policy of Korea is a time when it is necessary to shift from a policy focused on supporting passive tourism activities that promotes the right to enjoy by providing monetary support to a policy for positive tourism activities promoting self-determination. This study aims to explore the improvement issues of social tourism policy in South Korea. In this study, 123 local and foreign tourism experts surveyed regarding social tourism of Korea from October to November in 2017, and collected their opinions: (1) the current status of social tourism in Korea (2) the priority realms to promote social tourism. As a result, social tourism among the 10 strengths of Korea in tourism has the lowest ranking in both domestic and foreign tourism experts. The improvement of recognition for domestic experts and accessibility for foreign experts were suggested as the priority realms to promote social tourism. This study can provide information for social tourism policy makers with a better understanding of the current status of social tourism in Korea and suggested policy areas.