{
  "id": 14384899,
  "title": "Korea bets on regional airports to spread tourism beyond capital area",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/14/korea-bets-on-regional-airports-to-spread-tourism-beyond-capital-area",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-10-14T06:42:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times-koreatimes",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/economy/20261014/korea-bets-on-regional-airports-to-spread-tourism-beyond-capital-area"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Korea aims to invest 410 billion won ($306.4 million) in developing five major tourist regions centered around regional airports, according to Finance Minister Lee Hyoung-il. The government hopes to draw more international tourists away from the Seoul metropolitan area and boost regional economies. This plan, announced at a task force meeting on service sector development, targets a combined 5 million international arrivals by 2029. The selected regions include airports in Busan, Daegu, Cheongju, Yangyang, and Muan. The government sees these airports as gateways to travel beyond the capital, with arrivals via regional airports and seaports now accounting for 27.8 percent of total tourists, a record 15.05 million as of August 31.",
  "summary": "Korea plans to invest 410 billion won ($306.4 million) next year to develop five major tourism regions centered on regional airports, seeking to draw more international tourists to venture beyond the Seoul metropolitan area. Finance Minister Lee Hyoung-il said Wednesday that the government aims to attract a combined 5 million international arrivals by 2029 to the five regions, selected last month…",
  "key_points": [
    "Korea plans to invest 410 billion won in regional airports for tourism.",
    "Five major regions targeted: Busan, Daegu, Cheongju, Yangyang, Muan.",
    "International arrivals expected to reach 5 million by 2029."
  ],
  "editors_take": "Expanding the utility of regional airports transforms these transit hubs into vital economic engines designed to decentralize the country's tourism industry and relieve the heavy concentration of visitors in Seoul.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Korea Times",
        "title": "Korea bets on regional airports to spread tourism beyond capital area",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/14/korea-bets-on-regional-airports-to-spread-tourism-beyond-capital-area-14395663",
        "published": "2026-10-14T07:47:03.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}