Korea's Go Local Campaign: Regional Gateways for Group Agents

On 7 October 2026 the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) launched Unlock Your Korea: Go Local, a campaign to move international visitors beyond Seoul. Our Korea team covers the details in its briefing on the campaign and regional gateways. This note is for agents weighing a group programme that starts or ends outside the capital.

What Is the Go Local Campaign?

• Dates. It runs from 7 October to 13 December 2026.
• Airports. Cheongju, Daegu and Gimhae are the regional airports named.
• Sea terminals. Incheon, Pyeongtaek and Gunsan are the ports named.
• Support. Wider mobile payment and tax-free shopping at local markets and small shops, cashback for individual spending, the K-Tour Pass in Busan, food-festival travel packages and more languages on the 1330 tourism hotline.

Which Parts Help a Tour Group?

• The gateway, above all. Flying into Gimhae, Daegu or Cheongju can remove a long road transfer from Incheon and let the route begin in the south or centre of the country.
• The food festivals. KTO is promoting packages tied to Daegu's Tteokbokki Festival and Gimcheon's Gimbap Festival through its overseas offices and travel agencies, which suits a food-led group if the dates fit.
• Less so the individual tools. Mobile payment, cashback and the hotline help independent travellers. A group with a coach and a guide needs them far less.

How Should Agents Use It in a Proposal?

• Treat it as a reason to look again, not as a package. The campaign does not price a group programme for you.
• Check every offer for groups. A promotion written for individuals may not apply to a group booking, so ask before you print it.
• Keep the dates inside the window. Anything tied to the campaign needs travel by 13 December 2026, and nothing has been announced about what follows.
• Match the gateway to the route. Busan and the south coast suit Gimhae; Daegu and the Gyeongsang heritage towns suit Daegu; central Korea suits Cheongju.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Unlock Your Korea: Go Local?

A Korea Tourism Organization campaign running from 7 October to 13 December 2026. It promotes travel beyond Seoul through regional airports and sea terminals, with help on payments, transport, food-festival packages and languages.

Which gateways does the campaign cover?

The regional airports at Cheongju, Daegu and Gimhae, and the sea terminals at Incheon, Pyeongtaek and Gunsan.

Do the campaign offers apply to tour groups?

Many are built for individual travellers, such as mobile payment, cashback and the 1330 hotline. Explera DMC checks each offer for a group before it goes into a quote.

Why would a group arrive through a regional airport?

It can save a long transfer from Incheon and let the route start outside Seoul. Explera DMC plans the coach, guide and route from the arrival airport.

Source: The Korea Times, 7 October 2026.

Where Explera Fits

Our Korea team plans group programmes from regional gateways, with the coach, guide, venue bookings and a check on which campaign offers apply.

Write to b2b@explera.kr or message +66 93 656 8090 on WhatsApp. Explera DMC is IATA TIDS-registered (96215733) and an ASTA member (900408341); our KTO and KATA registrations are in application.