Some would say Jeju... is the most convenient and popular local vacation destination.
And the resort island is looking for support to digitalize its tourism content and make
it more accessible to visitors.
Song Ji－sun takes a look at the opening of the government′s innovation center to
help cater to that need.
Judging from its annual growth of 60－percent， Jeju－do Island is attracting more and more
visitors.
With over 12－million tourists visiting last year， Jeju－do is now a more popular destination
than even Hawaii or Bali.
However， its tourism programs need to evolve.
Most contents remain offline in the form of tour pamphlets and have yet to be transferred
to online databases.
Thus， the government is trying to reboot Jeju－do Island.
A new innovation center will help set up a ubiquitous computing environment through beacons
utilizing location data.
This means tourists can automatically receive discount coupons or information when approaching
nearby businesses.
The platform will be open to any developer that wishes to take part.
″By linking IT services and contents， Jeju－do Island will
become a hub for the tourism industry and for training professionals.
The smart platform will also make it possible to provide real－time contents and customized
services to Chinese tourists.″
IT services required to develop applications will be provided by Daum Kakao Korea′s leading
web portal which has called the island home for over a decade.
It will also provide network of professionals in Northeast Asia － in line with the center′s
goal of catering to startups that lack access to human resources.
″Many IT firms moved to Jeju－do Island following Daum Kakao， but it is hard for
them to recruit experts because it′s isolated from the mainland.
We will establish a human resources database called ′human library′ to help.″
″With just four more centers set to open their doors，.. the government′s map of
creative economy centers is almost complete.
On criticism these centers are not serving their purpose just yet the government says
it will now focus on promoting these centers... to let potential startups know about the services
and support they can receive.
Song Ji－sun， Arirang News.″