Iksan dreams of becoming the best tourist spot in Korea

▲This photo, provided by Iksan city, shows 2022 proclamation ceremony. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

▲This photo, provided by Iksan city, shows Ten Million Chrysanthemum Festival. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

SEOUL, Nov. 22 (Yonhap) -- Iksan city in North Jeolla province will take a leap to become the No. 1 tourist destination in Korea with abundant tourism resources and unique cultural contents.

The city is extending the "Iksan Visiting Year" from this year to next year and announced their goal to attract 5 million tourists.

Iksan City held a ceremony "2023 Iksan Visiting Year" at Lotte Hotel World in Seoul on Tuesday to promote and revitalize attractive tourism resources and products.

Along with the declaration ceremony, it signed a business agreement with domestic tourism industry and Seoul Tourism Foundation to jointly promote promotional marketing and attract tourists.

Starting with this, the city plans to attract 5 million visitors and create a tourism boom to revitalize traveling to Iksan.

2.3 million people including visitors to major tourist spots and festivals visited Iksan as of last October, taking a step closer to making 5 million-visited tourism city.

The city plans to establish a new tourism ecosystem by using the core resources like "transportation, "food," and "festival."

Specifically, in order to supplement the foundation for stay-type tourism, the government will increase night-time contents and increase the pace for ways to attract people such as incentives.

First, customized tourism products will be operated based on the various tourism patterns by different generations.

"Field Trip" for teenagers, "Insta travel with lover" for people in 20s, "Children education Home Experience" for people in 30s with kids, "Shopping and one-day trip" for 40s, "Healing trip" for people in 50s which mainly focus on gourmet tourism and ecological traveling.

Each tourism product will be operated with historical resources such as Mireuksa Temple and Baekje Royal Palace Museum as well as local hot places such as Agape Garden, Prison Set, and Yongan Ecological Wetland Park.

Main festivals such as the Seodong Festival, the Ten Million Chrysanthemum Festival, and the Iksan Cultural Heritage Night Trip will also be possible.

Group tourists of 20 or more will be provided 400,000 won per bus and up to 15,000 won per person for accommodation, and students from school trips and field trips will be provided with up to 5,000 won per person for accommodation and activities.

A city official said, "We will successfully settle as a '5-million-tourist city' through local tourism resources, customized programs for each age groups, and incentives to revitalize the local economy."

(This article is translated from Korean to English by Jiwon Woo.)

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