A participant rides a beach wheelchair during the Korea Tourism Organization’s (KTO) mudflat tour program in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, May 14. Courtesy of KTO
Korea’s tourism industry is increasingly shifting its focus toward barrier-free travel, as government agencies and local authorities expand programs designed to improve accessibility for seniors, people with disabilities and other travel-vulnerable groups amid growing demand for inclusive tourism experiences.
The push shows a broader recognition that tourism accessibility is no longer limited to physical infrastructure such as ramps or wheelchair paths, but is increasingly viewed as part of a wider social environment that determines whether all people can comfortably participate in travel and leisure activities.
“Barrier-free tourism is one of the basic conditions of an advanced society,” Han Sang-il, a professor from the Department of Hotel & Tourism Science at Daegu Catholic University, told The Korea Times. “A society can be evaluated by how well it cares for socially vulnerable people, and tourism should also be an area everyone can enjoy equally.”
The renewed attention comes as the government places greater emphasis on the tourism sector as a future growth industry. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and affiliated organizations have recently rolled out a series of projects aimed at broadening tourism access while encouraging regional travel and longer stays outside the Seoul metropolitan area.
Interest in accessible tourism has been rising, according to the Korea Tourism Organization’s (KTO) 2025 barrier free tourism awareness survey of 2,000 respondents including people with disabilities, seniors and families with young children.
The survey found that 53.3 percent were interested in barrier-free related travel products. Meanwhile, 75.9 percent said they had experienced inconvenience while traveling with mobility vulnerable groups, with transportation routes and mobility access cited as the biggest difficulties.
“People also need to broaden their understanding of barrier-free tourism,” a local tourism industry official said on condition of anonymity.
“It is not limited to wheelchair users. The category also includes pregnant women, families traveling with infants and elderly travelers, who often travel in larger groups. Because of this, accessible tourism can potentially become a high value-added industry if specialized services are properly developed.”
A wheelchair user gets off a lift during a tour of Mount Hwangmae in Hapcheon County, South Gyeongsang Province, to view spring blossoms, April 22. Courtesy of Korea Tourism Organization
Source: Korea Times News
