Suwon Special City Takes Off as Global Tourism Destination with '2026-2027 Suwon Visit Year'

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Jeong Jun-seong] Suwon Special City is advancing toward becoming a "Global Tourism Destination" on the basis of the "2026-2027 Suwon Visit Year."

On the 13th, the city held the "2026-2027 Suwon Visit Year Departmental Progress Report Meeting" in the City Hall Conference Room, presided over by First Vice Mayor Kim Hyun-soo, to review the progress of Suwon Visit Year initiatives.

Forty departments are implementing 75 projects. At the meeting, progress reports were presented across four sectors: △promotion △reception readiness △events, and △content.

First, in the promotion sector, the city decided to strengthen integrated online and offline promotion and expand targeted marketing to attract domestic and international tourists. It will focus on spreading the city's image through SNS, tourism platforms, and media collaboration.

In the reception readiness sector, the city plans to inspect and improve overall tourism infrastructure including transportation, environment, and information systems in preparation for increased tourist numbers.

In the events sector, the city will expand and operate various events and festivals to encourage seasonal, nighttime, and extended-stay tourism. It plans to strengthen tourism programs linked with existing events to attract visitors.

In the content sector, the city will continuously discover and expand experiential tourism content and storytelling-based programs. It plans to focus on developing differentiated tourism content utilizing Suwon's historical and cultural resources.

Meanwhile, the city plans to regularly monitor progress on the Suwon Visit Year project and strengthen interdepartmental collaboration to build a sustainable tourism ecosystem.

The city declared the Suwon Visit Year on the occasion of the 230th anniversary of the construction of Suwon Hwaseong Fortress (2026) and the 30th anniversary of its designation as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site (2027). The slogan is "Suwon, A Tourism City For You." The city has set a goal of becoming a global tourism destination attracting 15 million visitors annually.

First Vice Mayor Kim Hyun-soo stated, "The Suwon Visit Year is a core project that all departments must collaborate on and promote together," and called for creating "a foundation for Suwon's leap as a global tourism destination through organic collaboration."

He further emphasized, "It is important to create changes and results that tourists can experience," and stressed, "Projects must be executed with a focus on the field."