On Thursday, July 23, 2026, the final presentations and award ceremony for the "2026 Travel Innovation Idea Contest" took place at Yanolja Square on the 1st floor of MDM Tower.

Jointly hosted by Yanolja Research and NOL UNIVERSE, the contest marked its 4th edition this year under the theme of "Revitalizing Regional Festivals."

The event proceeded with welcoming remarks by Suchung Jang, Director of Yanolja Research, followed by presentations and Q&A sessions from the top 9 finalist teams, and concluded with the award ceremony.

The evaluation panel was chaired by Professor Kyuwan Choi from the College of Hotel and Tourism Management at Kyung Hee University, with Kibum Kim (Head of Inbound Group), Mi-seon Cho (Head of Marketing Group), and Hyun Mo Yoon (Head of Product Group) from NOL Universe serving as judges.

The Grand Prize was awarded to Team 'RockComes' for their proposal on 'Taebaek Regional Festival Planning and Rebranding Strategy.' In addition, one First Prize, two Excellence Awards, and five Honorable Mentions were selected, with a total prize pool of 13 million KRW awarded.

Marking its 4th year, the Travel Innovation Idea Contest will continue to serve as a platform for uncovering youth ideas to drive the growth of South Korea’s tourism industry.

<Welcoming Remarks> SooCheong Jang, Director of Yanolja Research

<Congratulatory Remarks> Cheolwoong Lee, CEO at NOL UNIVERSE

<Judges' Overall Evaluation> Kyuwan Choi, Professor at Kyung Hee University

<Grand Prize> RockComes : MINE ROCK FESTIVAL: Taebaek Regional Festival Planning and Rebranding Strategy

<First Prize> Festa : Regional Festival Revitalization Strategy via NOL services

<Excellence Award> Anseong-Wajo : Agricultural Tourism Festival Proposal Utilizing Ugly Produce

<Excellence Award> Chukje-ya~Nolja : Festival Solution System via Prescription Matrix

<Honorable Mention> July 7th : Hidden Local K-culture Discovered through NOL World

<Honorable Mention> Namural De Eomneun Team : Okcheon Tree Seeding Festival: Meeting My First Tree

<Honorable Mention> Geon-ha, Lee : Regional Festival Revitalization Strategy Based on Local Resolution

<Honorable Mention> Curious : Mak-Dak Road: Walking Through Chuncheon, the city of Makguksu and Dakgalbi

<Honorable Mention> NOL SPACE : Goheung Space & Aerospace Festival Rebranding Strategy Proposal for Local Tourism Revitalization