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Search engine marketing Gained-seok, the president of the Tourism Sciences Society of Korea (TOSOK) delivers a gap speech in the course of the group’s press convention in Seoul, Thursday. Korea Instances photograph by Lee Hae-rin
Korea’s tourism business will likely be reshaped this yr by a stronger concentrate on sustainability, wider use of synthetic intelligence (AI) and extra personalized journey experiences, the Tourism Sciences Society of Korea (TOSOK) mentioned Thursday, unveiling its first annual imaginative and prescient underneath the slogan “RED UNICORN,” to mark the Yr of the Purple Horse.
At a New Yr’s press convention in Seoul, TOSOK President Search engine marketing Gained-seok mentioned 2026 marks “an important turning level when your entire business ecosystem should be overhauled,” pushed by simultaneous shifts in AI, sustainability requirements, demographics and intensifying international competitors.
“The important thing job isn’t solely to realize the quantitative objective of 30 million inbound guests, however to attach that achievement to qualitative progress within the construction and content material of Korean tourism,” he mentioned, stressing that customer quantity alone doesn’t assure competitiveness.
Search engine marketing mentioned Korea should transfer past a mannequin centered on short-term visits and their related buying and lodging to 1 that “refines the very content material and strategies of tourism” by convergence with meals, medical, wellness, Ok-beauty, MICE, sports activities and tradition.
He additionally described AI as “core infrastructure” for enhancing effectivity and increasing international attain, pointing to its rising position in demand forecasting, pricing, customized suggestions and language providers.
Heo Jun, a professor at Dongduk Ladies’s College who led the society’s development research, mentioned TOSOK’s outlook differs from reviews by the Korea Tourism Group and personal analysis companies, which focus primarily on traveler preferences and market sentiment.
“Our projection is centered on coverage agendas and structural blueprints that authorities, academia and companies can use to revamp Korea’s tourism ecosystem,” Heo mentioned.
The research is predicated on an in-depth survey of greater than 200 tourism professors nationwide. TOSOK summarized the outcomes utilizing the acronym “RED UNICORN” to speak about 10 themes that it mentioned ought to information Korea’s tourism transition in 2026.
Professor Heo Jun of Dongduk Ladies’s College introduces 2026 tourism developments throughout TOSOK’s press convention in Seoul, Thursday. Korea Instances photograph by Lee Hae-rin
The primary pillar, “Regenerative tourism for regional resilience,” requires tourism that helps handle native depopulation and financial decline.
“Home journey, regional co-prosperity and dispersing international vacationers into native areas should change into non-negotiable coverage agendas,” Heo mentioned.
“Embedded AI and digital tourism experiences” requires synthetic intelligence and digital instruments to change into an invisible however fixed layer of journey, shaping all the things from journey planning and navigation to fee and on-site discovery.
“Home and inbound tourism synergy” emphasizes that international and native tourism ought to develop collectively, with worldwide guests boosting pleasure in Korean tradition and inspiring Koreans to rediscover locations at house.
Underneath “Extremely-personalized journey OS,” TOSOK envisions methods that learn particular person context and conduct patterns to design hyper-tailored itineraries, costs and providers. Heo pointed to youthful vacationers who “more and more need to create their very own journeys” utilizing home-sharing and lifestyle-focused stays, arguing that real-time knowledge and context evaluation are wanted at each the central and native authorities ranges.
The “Built-in wellness tourism” development goals to show Korea’s booming magnificence and medical tourism into longer stays, “life-care” packages that mix clinics with native wellness property. Latest business knowledge counsel worldwide customer spending on medical and associated wellness providers in Korea surpassed 2 trillion gained final yr, up greater than 60 p.c from 2024.
Different pillars embody “Converged contents for Ok-fandonomy,” which promotes mixing Ok-dramas, teaching programs, gastronomy and native IP into fandom-driven experiences and agendas for open innovation, routinized ESG practices and next-generation expertise improvement.
“The structured infrastructure that may orchestrate this period of business convergence continues to be schooling,” Heo mentioned, calling for presidency, native authorities and corporations to collectively construct new pipelines for tourism employees.
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