North Chungcheong Province Gov. Kim Young-hwan, front row center, poses with foreign performers during the opening ceremony for the 2025 Yeongdong World Traditional Music & Art Expo in Yeongdong, North Chungcheong Province, Sept. 12, 2025. Courtesy of North Chungcheong Provincial Office
North Chungcheong Provincial Office said it is rolling out a series of policies aimed at attracting more foreign visitors, including improved transportation access, and expanded shopping, tourism and incentive programs.
Korea saw a record number of foreign visitors in 2025, with arrivals surpassing 18.7 million for the year, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Thanks to the nationwide rebound in inbound tourism, North Chungcheong Province also welcomed more than 100,000 visitors at the Cheongju International Airport last year, up about 40,000 from the previous year, reflecting its rapidly expanding inbound tourism potential.
The province plans to establish and operate a demand-responsive transportation system linking major transport hubs such as Cheongju International Airport and Osong Station with key tourist sites across the province. The initiative is designed to improve mobility for foreign travelers and encourage visitors to explore destinations within North Chungcheong Province.
The office said it will operate C-SQUARE, a travel lounge located at the Yongdu Temple Iron Flagpole Plaza in Cheongju, as a tourism hub. The facility will offer services including hands-on experiences with locally produced beauty products, information on regional cuisine and shopping, as well as luggage storage for international visitors.
To further strengthen shopping tourism, the province plans to expand the use of the C-Pass shopping voucher, aiming to boost local spending by foreign tourists.
Incentives to attract group tours will continue, including subsidies for charter flights targeting markets such as China.
The provincial office also plans to conduct aggressive overseas marketing by operating tourism promotion booths in key and emerging markets, while hosting briefings and familiarization tours for domestic and international travel industry officials to develop customized tourism products.
With inbound travel from China showing a sharp increase, the province will place particular emphasis on developing and promoting regional tourism packages linked to Cheongju International Airport.
To support longer stays, the provincial office recently revised its tourism promotion ordinance to provide incentives for private sector investment in tourism-related businesses, including accommodation facilities.
Source: Korea Times News
