Reading the True Appeal of Global Tourism Cities Through Big Data

Yanolja Research to Host Seminar on the “2026 Evaluation of Global Tourism City Attractiveness”

Yanolja Research, a research institute specializing in the travel and tourism industry, will host the “2026 Evaluation of Global Tourism City Attractiveness” seminar in collaboration with Purdue University’s CHRIBA Institute in the United States and Kyung Hee University’s H&T Analytics Center. The seminar will take place on Thursday, July 16, at 1:30 p.m. in the International Conference Hall on the ninth floor of the Seoul Global Center.

The seminar has been organized at a time when the global tourism industry has moved beyond pre-COVID-19 levels and is continuing a clear growth trajectory. Its purpose is to provide data-driven strategies that enable private enterprises and local governments to respond proactively to changes in the global tourism market. In particular, the seminar begins from the recognition that, as Korea approaches the opening of an era of 20 million inbound tourists, there is an urgent need for an objective diagnosis of the attractiveness of tourism cities that can compete effectively in the global market.

Through joint research, Yanolja Research, Purdue University’s CHRIBA Institute, and Kyung Hee University’s H&T Analytics Center previously unveiled the Yanolja Attractiveness Index, which evaluated the attractiveness of 191 cities worldwide using global social big data in 14 languages from Brandwatch, a UK-based social media analytics platform. The index attracted attention from both academia and industry because it departed from conventional supplier-oriented and quantitative infrastructure-based evaluation methods and instead analyzed the tourism attractiveness of cities based on actual online mentions, evaluations, and emotional responses left by travelers.

At this year’s seminar, the latest research findings will be presented, reflecting additional data accumulated since last year’s study as well as expert feedback, thereby further enhancing the reliability and practical applicability of the evaluation model. The seminar will go beyond a simple announcement of rankings and will also discuss changes in the attractiveness of major global tourism cities, regional competitive dynamics, the strengths and areas for improvement of individual cities, and the global positioning and strategic applications of Korean tourism cities.

The seminar will consist of two keynote presentations and a panel discussion. In the first presentation, Professor SooCheong Jang, Director of Yanolja Research and Professor at Purdue University, will speak on “The Development of the Global Tourism City Attractiveness Index.” He will explain the background and methodology of the index, as well as the significance of a data-driven evaluation framework from the traveler’s perspective. In the second presentation, Professor Kyuwan Choi of Kyung Hee University, Director of the H&T Analytics Center, will speak on “Results of the 2026 Evaluation of Global Tourism City Attractiveness.” He will present the analysis results for major cities and identify the strategic tasks Korean tourism cities must strengthen in the global market.

Following the presentations, experts from academia, industry, and the public sector will participate in a panel discussion. The discussion will examine, in depth, strategies for strengthening the competitiveness of global tourism cities, expanding inbound tourism, advancing data-driven city branding, developing public-private partnership models, and shifting tourism policy toward a traveler-experience-centered approach.

Professor SooCheong Jang, Director of Yanolja Research, stated, “The competitiveness of a tourism city can no longer be explained by facilities and resources alone. It is now important to read, through data, what travelers actually experience, how they feel, and which cities they want to revisit.” He added, “This seminar will provide practical support for objectively diagnosing the current position of Korean tourism cities in the global tourism market and for helping local governments and private tourism enterprises establish demand-side strategies.”

The seminar is open to local government officials, tourism industry professionals, academic researchers, tourism policymakers, and anyone interested in global tourism trends and city branding. Registration is available through the Yanolja Research website or via the QR code on the seminar poster.