On July 2, 2026, Yanolja Research participated as a special session speaker at the 100th TOSOK International Tourism Conference & 2026 Seoul International Tourism Forum, delivering presentations under the theme of “Strengthening Korea’s Tourism Competitiveness.”
The special session was organized to share the key findings of major research projects conducted by Yanolja Research. A total of seven speakers presented diverse perspectives on the current state of Korean tourism, its key challenges, and strategic directions for strengthening its future competitiveness.
The first speaker, Dr. SooCheong Jang, Professor at Purdue University and Director of Yanolja Research, presented on “Directions for Advancing Korean Tourism.” Dr. Jang assessed the current status of Korea’s tourism industry and proposed a long-term vision and goals for the future development of Korean tourism.
The second speaker, Suckwon Hong, Principal Researcher at Yanolja Research, presented on “Inbound and Outbound Tourism Trends in Korea.” Drawing on the latest data, Hong analyzed the current state of Korean tourism and emphasized that Korea has reached a point where it must move beyond quantitative growth toward qualitative growth.
The third speaker, Yejin Ahn, Senior Researcher at Yanolja Research, presented on “The Attractiveness of Seoul and Busan from the Perspective of Chinese Tourists.” Ahn analyzed SNS data used by Chinese tourists and introduced visitor perceptions of Seoul and Busan, Korea’s two leading tourism cities. She further suggested that Korea’s sustainable tourism competitiveness can be strengthened when Seoul and Busan function as complementary tourism destinations.
The fourth speaker, Kwanyoung Lee, Associate Research Fellow at Yanolja Research, presented on “A Comparative Analysis of the Global Price Competitiveness of Major Korean Tourism Cities.” Lee provided a data-based analysis addressing the perception that travel in Korea is expensive, and compared the tourism price competitiveness of Seoul and Busan with that of major global tourism cities, including London, New York, Hong Kong, and Tokyo. The presentation highlighted that high-quality tourism experiences supported by reasonable price competitiveness are an important asset of Korean tourism.
The fifth speaker, Hyowon Yoon, Senior Researcher at Yanolja Research, presented on “A Structural Diagnosis of Inconveniences Experienced by Inbound Tourists to Korea.” Based on Reddit social data, Yoon compared global tourists’ evaluations of travel experiences in Korea and Japan. The analysis found that inconveniences in Korea were mainly associated with the early stages of the tourism journey, including digital access and tourism information, while inconveniences in Japan were more closely related to on-site capacity constraints, such as transportation and attraction experiences. Yoon proposed three key tasks for enhancing Korea’s tourism competitiveness: removing friction at the initial stage of travel, securing digital openness, and establishing an inclusive hospitality culture.
The sixth speaker, Deachul Seo, Senior Researcher at Yanolja Research, presented on “Japan’s Strategy for Becoming a Tourism Powerhouse through Regional Airport Revitalization.” Seo explained that attracting foreign airlines to regional airports and transforming them into inbound tourism hubs are essential to addressing Korea’s long-standing tourism bottlenecks, including the concentration of inbound tourism in the Seoul metropolitan area and the imbalance between inbound and outbound travel. He also introduced Japan’s decade-long strategic efforts to develop regional airports and presented policy implications that Korea can consider.
The final speaker, Dr. Kyuwan Choi, Professor at the College of Hotel & Tourism Management at Kyung Hee University, presented on “Strategies for Revitalizing Regional Tourism.” Dr. Choi proposed six strategic directions for strengthening the competitiveness of Korea’s tourism cities: diversifying target customers, branding tourism cities, optimizing tourism attraction and product portfolios, improving promotional efficiency, enhancing infrastructure, including transportation and information systems, and establishing an effective governance system.
As Korea’s first private research institute specializing in the travel and tourism industry, Yanolja Research will continue to provide data- and research-based insights and contribute to the sustainable development of Korea’s tourism industry.
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