Seoul Metropolitan Government to address tourism impact

South Korea’s Seoul Metropolitan Government will host the ‘Seoul International Fair & Sustainable Tourism Forum 2016 (SIFT)’ with Seoul Tourism Organization at the Grand Hilton Hotel, Seoul on 20-21 September. Anticipating over 20m tourists by 2018, the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Seoul Tourism Organization, in cooperation with the UNWTO, SIFT will provide a platform to discuss policies and ways of implementation for fair and sustainable tourism. The number of global tourists in 2015 reached nearly 1.2bn and is expected to exceed 1.8bn by 2030. However, growth in tourism can have negative impacts, such as conflict between the local residents and the tourists. UNWTO designated 2017 as the ‘International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development’ as part of a motion to address the issue. Bukchon and Ihwa Village in Seoul are cited examples of “Touristification”, where local shops and residents are being driven out of their neighbourhood due to increased tourism activities. Byuntae Kim, CEO and president of Seoul Tourism Organization said: “SIFT will bring together cases from various parts of the world to discuss solutions and share wisdom on how to further promote sustainable tourism” and added, “The Forum will promote Seoul as a leader in fair tourism.” Those in attendance includes Xu Jing, the Executive secretary and regional director for Asia and the Pacific, UNWTO and Harold Goodwin, former professor of MMU / managing director & advisor, Responsible Tourism Partnership, WTM, along with other experts, scholars and activists.