SUNCHEON — More than 137,000 people visited Suncheon during the four-day Chuseok holiday, an average of 34,000 a day despite the short break. City officials say the turnout is evidence that Suncheon's tourism strategy is working.
The crowds went beyond the city's marquee attractions, the Suncheon Bay National Garden and the Suncheon Bay Wetland, spreading to restaurants, cafes and lodgings around Suncheon Station and the old downtown district.
The city says that was by design.
Suncheon analyzed visitor routes and tailored programs to what travelers wanted. During the holiday, the city offered free admission to visitors wearing hanbok, traditional Korean dress, along with traditional games and other hands-on programs. It also ran city tours for 1,000 won and cut fares on Suncheon tourism taxis by 50% to keep visitors in town longer, laying the groundwork for a destination where travelers stay rather than pass through.
The momentum carries into the 2026 Suncheon Food and Art Festival, which runs from Oct. 16 to 18. The city has designed the event so that festival spending circulates through local businesses, with a festival gift certificate at the center of the plan.
The certificates, sold at a 5% discount from the 28th until the day before the festival opens, can be used not only at the festival grounds but also at about 230 participating merchants in the old downtown, channeling visitor spending to small business owners. The city says the arrangement gives visitors a discount while pumping money into the local economy.
Suncheon is also extending its tourism push to pets. Starting on the 28th, the city's 2026 "Dangdaeng (Pet) Suncheon" Half-Price Travel program will refund half of travel costs, up to 100,000 won, to visitors from outside the city who bring pets along, aiming at the growing number of households that treat pets as family.
Travelers qualify by visiting one designated pet-friendly attraction and spending at least 50,000 won. The city describes the program as more than financial support, calling it a message that travelers with pets are welcome. Suncheon says it is positioning itself as a destination open to every kind of traveler.
"Suncheon's tourism clock does not stop," said Yang Hyo-jeong, director general of the city's culture and tourism bureau. "Building on a successful holiday, we will raise the city's energy through festivals, move first into the new market of travel with pets and roll out tourism policies that stay a step ahead."
Travelers across the country are watching Suncheon's approach of linking its major attractions with the city center to turn the whole city into one large theme park.
