Yanolja Research (Director: SooCheong Jang), a research institute specializing in the travel and tourism industry, co-hosted the '2026 Travel Innovation Idea Contest' alongside NOL Universe. The event concluded with great success, highlighting new growth potential for local festivals.
This year’s contest drew a total of 220 teams composed of undergraduate and graduate students nationwide. Participants proposed a wide range of ideas aimed at content innovation, brand competitiveness enhancement, digital transformation, and globalization for local festivals. The large volume of creative viewpoints and highly feasible proposals submitted underscored the strong interest in revitalizing regional festivals.
Since 2023, Yanolja Research has held an annual idea contest for undergraduate and graduate students to discover future talent in the tourism industry and bridge creative youth ideas with real-world industry applications.
Now in its fourth year, this contest focused on the theme of 'Revitalizing Local Festivals,' seeking innovative youth-led solutions to pressing challenges faced jointly by the tourism industry and local communities. The main competition categories included: Local Festival Content Planning, Local Festival Branding Strategy, Local Festival Operations & Management Using Digital Technology, and Globalization Strategies for Local Festivals.
Rather than offering simple concepts, participants submitted concrete execution plans that comprehensively factored in regional characteristics, tourist demand, digital technology, and commercial feasibility.
The final judging session and award ceremony took place on July 23 at the Yanolja Research headquarters in Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Following a preliminary document review, nine finalist teams presented their ideas in person and engaged in a Q&A session with the panel of judges. The evaluation was conducted fairly and professionally, taking into account creative originality, feasibility, contribution to festival revitalization, logical clarity, and overall completeness.
The Grand Prize went to team Rockcomes for their proposal, 'MINE ROCK FESTIVAL: Taebaek Local Festival Planning and Rebranding Strategy.' The Excellence Award (First Runner-up) was awarded to team Festa, who presented 'Local Festival Revitalization Strategy via NOL Services.' Additionally, two High Commendation awards and five Honorable Mention awards were presented, with a total cash prize pool of 13 million KRW awarded to the winning teams.
구분 | 팀명 | 아이디어명 |
Grand Prize | Rockcomes | MINE ROCK FESTIVAL: Taebaek Local Festival Planning and Rebranding Strategy |
Excellence Award | Festa | Local Festival Revitalization Strategy via NOL Services |
High Commendation | Anseong Wajo | Agricultural Tourism Festival Proposal Utilizing Ugly Produce |
High Commendation | Festival ya~nolja | Festival Solution System via Prescriptive Matrix |
Honorable Mention | July 7th | Hidden Local K-Culture Met Through NOL World |
Honorable Mention | Tree-mendous Team | Okcheon Sapling Festival: Meeting My First Tree |
Honorable Mention | Geonha Lee | Local 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 | Rebranding Strategy Proposal for Goheung Space & Aerospace Festival to Revitalize Local Tourism |
Note: Team names within the same award tier are listed in Korean alphabetical order.
Kyuwan Choi, Professor at Kyung Hee University and Chair of the Judging Committee, remarked, “This contest featured outstanding ideas that viewed local festivals not merely as one-off events, but as sustainable platforms connecting regional culture, industry, and tourism.” He added, “In particular, proposals that integrated digital technologies with visitor experiences demonstrated significant potential for real-world implementation.”
SooCheong Jang, Director of Yanolja Research, stated, “For local festivals to achieve sustainable growth, it is essential not only to increase visitor numbers, but also to build distinctive content and branding that can only be experienced in that specific region.” He continued, “We hope these novel ideas proposed by young scholars will serve as a catalyst to elevate the experiential value of local festivals and inject fresh vitality into local economies.”
Director Jang further noted, “Yanolja Research will continue to expand industry-academia collaborations and talent development programs, providing undergraduate and graduate students with opportunities to tackle real-world challenges in the tourism industry and connect their ideas to the field.”
Beyond a simple idea competition, this event was recognized as a valuable forum confirming the young generation’s novel perspectives on driving sustainable growth and global competitiveness for local festivals. Yanolja Research expects that the outstanding ideas presented will serve as valuable reference material for local governments, festival organizers, and tourism enterprises when planning future regional festival policies and initiatives.
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