관광객의 이동권과 쇼핑의 만남, 강릉시가 선보이는 ‘스마트 로컬 마케팅’의 미래 > K-wave Trends

The "International Tourist Taxi Joint Marketing" campaign, running for one week from June 8th to 14th, is a strategic move by Gangneung City to kill two birds with one stone: enhancing convenience for international tourists and revitalizing the local commercial district. The campaign utilizes the "International Tourist Taxi," an essential mode of transport for foreign visitors navigating major landmarks in Gangneung, as its core medium. By providing Olive Young discount coupons to taxi passengers, tourists enjoy both the convenience of transportation and tangible economic benefits in their shopping. This approach is expected to not only increase tourist satisfaction but also act as a catalyst for stimulating local consumption and injecting vitality into the regional economy.

The most significant feature of this project is its close collaboration with Olive Young, a brand with powerful global recognition. Recognizing that many international tourists consider shopping for beauty and healthcare products an essential part of their Korea trip, the city partnered with a private brand that has the highest touchpoint with these visitors. After receiving coupons at the Gangneung Station Tourist Information Center, passengers using the international tourist taxi can receive a 5,000 KRW discount on purchases of 50,000 KRW or more at the Olive Young store within the station. This allows tourists to experience a "small luxury during their trip" at a reasonable cost, leaving them with more positive memories of their stay in Gangneung.

It is also noteworthy that tourism policies led by local governments are evolving to be more "user-centric." While past tourism marketing often stopped at simply promoting landmarks, Gangneung City is now meticulously analyzing the actual travel routes and shopping preferences of tourists to inform its policies. In particular, the city is maximizing tourism satisfaction by resolving the discomfort foreign tourists face due to language barriers or lack of information through "tourist taxis," while providing a clear incentive in the form of "shopping benefits." This aims for a virtuous cycle that naturally extends the length of stay for tourists and, consequently, leads to increased sales for the entire local commercial district.

Gangneung City's efforts are not limited to a specific mode of transport like the international tourist taxi. The city has already built a diverse tourism portfolio that encompasses both urban and rural areas, such as the "Nong-tour-rail" (rural tourism rail) program linked with KTX. While the Nong-tour-rail provides unique cultural content such as making Chodang tofu or stone-mill coffee experiences, this Olive Young joint marketing maximizes shopping convenience in the city center to broadly meet the needs of tourists. By appropriately blending traditional tourism resources with modern consumption trends, Gangneung City is employing a multifaceted strategy to attract tourists of various ages and nationalities.

The city's move to secure competitiveness as a tourist destination through collaboration with private enterprises is expected to strengthen further. The Gangneung City Tourism Policy Division, which oversees this project, suggested that this marketing is not a one-time event but a starting point for discovering more diverse private-public collaboration models in the future. Public-private cooperation will be a key driver in the process of continuously monitoring the demands of international tourists and developing customized services they can truly feel. Gangneung City's experiment in expanding the reason for visiting from mere "sights to see" to a "city full of experiences and benefits" offers significant implications for other local governments.