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Southern Coast Tourism Industry, Securing a New Growth Engine
According to the announcement made by Gyeongsangnam-do on the 29th, the development project for the southern tourist complex in Geoje has been recognized as a public interest project by the Central Land Expropriation Committee (CLEC) and received a 'conditional approval' ruling. This creates a foundation for the project to be actively promoted, which had been delayed until now.
While recognizing the public interest and urgency of the project, the CLEC imposed conditions requiring the enhancement of compensation negotiation acquisition rates and the specification of public contribution measures. Gyeongsangnam-do plans to faithfully implement these conditions and create an environmentally friendly and sustainable tourist complex by reflecting the results of the environmental impact assessment in the development plans.
This decision is expected to have a positive impact on the local economy.
Overview of the Geoje Southern Tourist Complex Development Project
Recently, Geoje City plans to invest a total of 427.7 billion won to develop a 3.69 million square meters tourist complex around Tappo-ri in the southern district and Yulpo-ri in the eastern district by 2031.
The new complex will include various accommodation facilities such as resort condominiums, tourist hotels, and hostels, as well as marine sports experience centers, ecological experience centers, and sports and recreation cultural facilities. The aim is to strengthen stay-type tourism infrastructure.
Gyeongsangnam-do recognizes that the existing manufacturing-centered economic structure is showing limitations and is actively pursuing strategies to develop the tourism industry as a high value-added industry. This change can be viewed as part of efforts to find new growth engines for the local economy.
Strategies Linked to the Southern Coast Tourism Belt
Gyeongsangnam-do has developed a plan to advance the Southern Coast area into a world-class tourist hub by utilizing its beautiful natural scenery and rich historical and cultural resources. To do this, three main strategies are being implemented: attracting large-scale private investments, improving accessibility, and easing regulations.
In particular, the recently included project in the national road network plan aimed at connecting the islands of the Southern Coast with a marine national road has garnered significant attention. This road, operating alongside the Gaduk New Airport, the KTX Southern Inland Railway, and the Geoje-Tongyeong Expressway, is expected to allow access from the metropolitan area to Geoje, which is the starting point of Southern Coast tourism, in about 2 hours. This change is anticipated to greatly assist in attracting tourists.
A special law for the development of the Southern Coast region is being established to ease regulations, expand infrastructure, and lay the groundwork for the establishment of a Southern Coast Comprehensive Development Bureau under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport. This aims to foster development into a super-regional economic area.
Personal Opinion on Transportation Accessibility
The marine national road connecting the Southern Coast islands has significant symbolic meaning and expected effects, but the actual effects felt in the short term are limited as the project enters its active phase. Particularly, traveling from Busan to the southern district takes more than an hour, making the perceived distance feel even farther.
I personally believe it is necessary to establish a new road that extends the National Route 5, which is currently interrupted at Osoo Intersection in Geoje, through the mountains of the eastern and southern districts. If this route is connected to the construction plan for the Tongyeong-Geoje Hansan Bridge, it will greatly improve effective transportation accessibility for both tourists and local residents.
Therefore, I believe that expanding the inland road network that directly connects living areas and tourism belts will be a more realistic approach to improving accessibility than a simple marine national road.
Conclusion
The conditional approval of the Geoje Southern Tourist Complex as a public interest project is expected to significantly contribute to the development of the Southern Coast tourism belt.
If sustainable development, enhancement of public benefit, and improvement of transportation accessibility are achieved together in the future, the Southern Coast is expected to establish itself as Korea's second growth axis, competing with the metropolitan area.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q. What is the background behind the recognition of the Geoje Southern Tourist Complex Development Project as a public interest project?
The Central Land Expropriation Committee granted conditional approval due to the public interest and urgency of the project.
According to the announcement made by Gyeongsangnam-do, the Geoje Southern Tourist Complex Development Project has been recognized as a public interest project and received conditional approval from the Central Land Expropriation Committee. The committee highly valued the positive impact and urgency this project would have on the local economy and imposed conditions for enhancing compensation negotiation acquisition rates and specifying public contribution measures. Based on this, Gyeongsangnam-do plans to pursue the creation of an eco-friendly and sustainable tourist complex.
Q. What facilities are planned to be included in the Geoje Southern Tourist Complex?
Resort condominiums, tourist hotels, hostels, marine sports and ecological experience centers, as well as cultural facilities will be developed.
This tourist complex development project involves an investment of 427.7 billion won in a 3.69 million square meter area in the southern district of Tappo-ri and the eastern district of Yulpo-ri, with the aim of completion by 2031. The complex will include accommodation facilities such as resort condominiums, tourist hotels, and hostels, as well as marine sports experience centers, ecological experience centers, and sports and leisure cultural facilities. This diverse range of facilities is focused on strengthening stay-type tourism infrastructure and contributing to increasing tourist satisfaction and length of stay.
Q. What strategy is Gyeongsangnam-do implementing to promote the development of the Southern Coast tourism belt?
The strategy is based on attracting private investments, improving transportation accessibility, and easing regulations.
Gyeongsangnam-do is implementing three core strategies to develop the Southern Coast into a world-class tourist destination by utilizing its natural landscapes and historical and cultural resources, including attracting large-scale private investment, enhancing infrastructure for accessibility improvement, and easing regulations. In this context, the expansion of transportation networks such as the Southern Coast Island Connecting Marine National Road, Gaduk New Airport, the KTX Southern Inland Railway, and the Geoje-Tongyeong Expressway is in progress, aiming for accessibility from the metropolitan area to Geoje on the Southern Coast in approximately two hours.
Q. What are the opinions on improving transportation accessibility in the Geoje region?
The expansion of the inland road network, in addition to the marine national road, is necessary for practical accessibility improvement.
The current Southern Coast Island Connecting Marine National Road project has significant symbolic meaning, but its short-term perceptible effects are limited. Traveling from Busan to the southern district takes more than an hour, thus making the actual distance feel longer. Personally, I believe that it is necessary to establish a new road extending National Route 5, which is currently interrupted at Osoo Intersection in Geoje, through the mountains in the eastern and southern districts. If this route is connected with the construction of the Tongyeong-Geoje Hansan Bridge, it would greatly enhance transportation accessibility for both tourists and local residents. Therefore, I suggest that expanding the inland road network, which directly connects living areas and tourism belts, is a practical solution rather than the marine national road.
Q. What are the expected effects of the Geoje Southern Tourist Complex Development Project on the local economy?
It will promote the development of the Southern Coast tourism belt and position itself as a new growth engine for the region.
This recognition as a public interest project and the conditional approval decision are expected to significantly contribute to the overall development of the Southern Coast tourism belt. If sustainable and eco-friendly development, along with public benefit enhancement and transportation accessibility issues, are improved, the Southern Coast could leap forward as Korea's second growth axis competing with the metropolitan area. This will also be a key outcome in the strategy to shift Gyeongsangnam-do's existing manufacturing-centered economic structure to a high value-added tourism industry.
