Ahead of the 2027 World Youth Day, Chungcheongnam-do is joining hands with Agoda, a global online travel booking service, to strengthen its competitiveness in attracting domestic and international tourists.

On the 6th, the province held an "MOU signing ceremony for activating Chungnam tourism and attracting domestic and international tourists linked to the 2027 World Youth Day" at the provincial government briefing room, attended by Governor Park Soo-hyun and Lee Joon-hwan, Agoda’s Northeast Asia Managing Director.

This agreement was prepared to increase the number of domestic and international visitors to Chungnam during the World Youth Day period and to raise the international profile of Chungnam tourism by utilizing Agoda’s overseas partnership network and online reservation services.

Under the agreement, the two organizations agreed to cooperate on: △ joint marketing in major global markets utilizing Agoda’s website and mobile app; △ planning and developing customized tourism products by market linked to World Youth Day; △ strengthening the international competitiveness of the Chungnam tourism brand; △ promoting and boosting online sales of local tourist attractions and accommodations; and △ sharing tourism demand analysis and marketing performance.

In particular, the province plans to discover tourism content that matches the demand and preferences of tourists by utilizing market analysis information based on Agoda’s overseas online booking services, and to publicize local tourist attractions and accommodations to the global market.

Furthermore, as a follow-up measure to the agreement, the province plans to encourage participation from various types of accommodations considering the demand and accommodation types of each city and county, and to recruit facility operators.

Also, in the first half of next year, the province plans to hold regional workshops targeting participating accommodation businesses and facility operators to share expected accommodation demand and operational plans during the World Youth Day period, and to gather on-site opinions.

Based on this, the province plans to secure necessary accommodations and prepare specific operational plans during the event period, while also supporting local tourism businesses in expanding their online sales channels and strengthening their domestic and international marketing capabilities.

At the event, Governor Park emphasized, "Chungnam is the cradle of South Korea’s Catholic history and is currently leaping toward becoming the 'Santiago of the East,' sought after by pilgrims from all over the world. To ensure that young pilgrims visiting Chungnam can ponder the values of human dignity and peace and stay for a long time, a solid accommodation infrastructure is crucial."

Governor Park continued, "For tourists to deeply permeate into the region and bring practical vitality to the local economy, the transition to 'stay-type tourism' is essential. With this agreement, we have opened the door to healing Chungnam, and moving forward, we will showcase Chungnam's tourism products to overseas markets through Agoda’s international sales network, and plan themed and customized tourism products based on global market trends and Agoda usage data."

Director Lee stated, "World Youth Day is a meaningful opportunity to publicize Chungnam as a travel destination to the world and to lead the new generation to discover the diverse charms of Korea. By providing travelers with accommodations, cultural attractions, and useful travel information through Agoda, we will make Chungnam an attractive destination that travelers will want to include in their itineraries."

He added, "This cooperation aligns with Agoda’s goal to support travelers in discovering more diverse regions of Korea beyond major tourist spots and to ensure that the benefits of tourism spread to more local communities."

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