{
  "id": 16856739,
  "title": "Korea eyes 30 mil. tourists with regional push",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/28/korea-eyes-30-mil-tourists-with-regional-push",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-28T06:12:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/lifestyle/travel-food/20261028/korea-eyes-30-mil-tourists-with-regional-push"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Korea is aiming to attract 30 million foreign tourists by shifting its focus away from Seoul to regional areas, Culture Minister Chae Hwi-young announced on Wednesday during a press conference in the capital. The country is poised to welcome 30 million, with the potential to reach 40 million overseas visitors in the future, Chae stated. The minister emphasized that the government is not only targeting a high quantity of visitors, but also aims for qualitative growth while tackling issues of overtourism. Korea's tourism industry is currently experiencing record-breaking growth, with cumulative foreign tourist arrivals surpassing the projected annual total of 18.94 million as of Tuesday. Despite facing global challenges such as high oil prices, inflation, and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, the ministry attributed the steady growth to the popularity of K-culture, industry innovation, and local hospitality. To maintain this upward trajectory, the government has increased its 2027 budget for the tourism sector to 1.756 trillion won ($1.31 billion), a 19 percent rise from the previous year's allocation.",
  "summary": "Korea is working to open an era of 30 million foreign visitors by shifting its tourism focus from Seoul to regional areas, Culture Minister Chae Hwi-young said Wednesday. \"An unprecedented future has already arrived and Korea is fully preparing to welcome 30 million and eventually 40 million overseas travelers,\" Chae said during a press conference in Seoul. \"To ensure that regional tourism…",
  "key_points": [
    "Korea aims to attract 30 million foreign tourists by shifting focus to regional areas.",
    "Culture Minister Chae Hwi-young announced the goal during a press conference in the capital.",
    "Tourism sector budget increased by 19% for 2027 to 1.756 trillion won."
  ],
  "editors_take": "Decentralizing tourism from Seoul to regional areas signals a strategic shift to manage overtourism while leveraging K-culture to transform high visitor volume into sustainable qualitative growth.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Yonhap News",
        "title": "S. Korea bets on regional tourism to attract more foreign visitors",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/28/s-korea-bets-on-regional-tourism-to-attract-more-foreign-visitors",
        "published": "2026-10-28T06:27:47.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "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."
}