Iksan and Gyeongju: Creating Memories with Pets… Pet-Friendly Tourist Cities

Creating a City for the Coexistence and Happiness of Pet Owners and Non-Pet Owners
2023 in Ulsan and Taean County, Chungnam; last year, in Pocheon City, Gyeonggi and Suncheon City, Jeonnam,

Ulsan Grand Park, located in the pet-friendly tourist city of Ulsan. (Photo provided by the Korea Tourism Organization) [email protected] *Resale and database distribution prohibited,
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, “Kim Jeong-hwan, tourism reporter = The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Minister Yoo In-chon), together with the Korea Tourism Organization (acting president Seo Young-chung), selected Iksan City in Jeonbuk and Gyeongju City in Gyeongbuk as the ‘Pet-Friendly Tourist Cities for 2025’ through a public contest.”,
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, ‘With this, there are now a total of six cities designated as good cities to travel with pets, including Ulsan Metropolitan City and Taean County, Chungnam selected in 2023, and Pocheon City, Gyeonggi, and Suncheon City, Jeonnam selected last year.’,
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, “Last year’s survey conducted by the Korea Tourism Organization among ‘pet owners’ (people raising pets) on ‘Current Status and Perception of Traveling with Pets’ showed that 74.1% (up from 69% in 2022) had experience traveling with pets. ‘Day trips’ accounted for 70.1% (up from 65.7%), and ‘overnight trips’ accounted for 60.4% (up from 53.0%).”,
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, ‘From the increase compared to 2022, we can confirm that the demand for traveling with pets is rising.’,
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, “In response to the growing demand for traveling with pets, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization are promoting the ‘Pet-Friendly Tourist City’ project every year to create a comfortable travel environment with pets.”,
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Gyeongju City’s Bomun Tourist Complex (Photo by Gyeongju City),
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, ‘Cities selected as places where you can freely enjoy lodging, experiences, and shopping activities with pets will receive 250 million Korean won in national funding (with local governments matching 1:1) annually for four years to support projects such as improving pet-friendly tourism readiness in lodging, dining (F&B), and transportation facilities, developing pet-friendly travel content tailored to regional characteristics, and establishing public-private cooperation systems to create cities where both pet owners and non-pet owners can happily coexist.’,
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, “Iksan City plans to establish the theme of ‘Pet Healing Tourist City That Becomes Happier the More You Enjoy It,’ with ‘Royal Palace Jewelry Theme Park’ as the main hub to create a ‘Pet Park’.”,
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, “In this location, a variety of experience opportunities will be offered for traveling healthily with pets, such as ‘DOGA (DOG+YOGA) Camping Experience,’ ‘Experience Living in Traditional Korean Houses with Pets’ linked to major tourist sites, and ‘Animal Health Care Programs’ and ‘Medical Petstar,’ providing comprehensive medical services for pets.”,
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, “Gyeongju City plans to create ‘Petia,’ a large-scale theme park, centered around the ‘Bomun Tourist Complex,’ selecting ‘Top 10 Pet-Friendly Tourist Sites,’ and equipping these sites with necessary facilities for accommodating pets as part of the effort to build ‘Gyeongju, a 1,000-Year Historic City Where You Can Explore with Pets.'”,
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, “‘The Bomunho Circular Trail’ will be used to operate facilities such as ‘Bomunho Dog Run’ and ‘Dang Ridge Cafe Tour.’ Furthermore, the ‘Gyeongju International Petstar’ event will be held to promote the pet culture enhancement industry.”,
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, “The competition for this year’s public contest was fierce, with a total of 15 local governments applying, highlighting the noticeable selection of themes utilizing each region’s unique tourist sites.”,
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, “Some notable examples include Iksan City’s creation of ‘Any Trekking Routes’ utilizing five natural tourist sites, and Gyeongju City’s ‘Pet Blossom Photo Pilgrimage’ conducted in locations with dense cherry blossom colonies.”,
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, ‘Each pet-friendly tourist city plans to form a promotion system that includes the participation and cooperation of various entities, including the private sector, public sector, industry, and academia, to effectively carry out the project.’,
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, “Kim Jeong-hoon, director of the tourism policy division at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, stated that ‘With the expansion to six pet-friendly tourist cities, we can push forward with more effective and large-scale projects. Especially this year, we aim to provide appealing content for tourists traveling with pets and focus on creating a pet-friendly environment,’ and further pledged ongoing support to ensure these friendly tourist cities grow into attractive places to visit with pets and contribute to local tourism.”
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[Iksan=Newsis] Royal Palace Jewelry Theme Park in Iksan City, Jeonbuk (Photo by Iksan City) *Resale and database distribution prohibited,
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