ESG as Korean Tourism Industry’s Strategy to Recovery

Editor Shin Yun-ae shin.yunae@joongang.co.kr

During the pandemic, things that used to be taken for granted were no longer taken for granted, and things that were familiar started to feel unfamiliar. COVID-19, which lasted over three years, has scarred us deeply and taught us a pivotal lesson: we need to revisit the basics. These include safety, public health, and wellness—the foundation of everything we do.

The concept that emerged at this time is ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance). Governments and companies spoke with one voice, declaring that improving non-financial factors, such as being more environmentally friendly (E), socially responsible (S), and having better governance (G), is the way to sustain our world even in times of crisis. There was no exception to the case, whether they had suffered or benefited from COVID-19.

The tourism industry also joined. As an industry that has been hit severely by the pandemic, they decided to leverage the crisis to make changes and find a way out. They started with long-standing issues such as environmental protection and traveler safety. From sources such as airplanes, ships, and cars, the industry generates carbon emissions that account for 8% of the global total. Irresponsible travelers also frequently cause damage to nature. Last year, Maya Bay, a popular tourist destination in southern Thailand that had been closed for more than three years due to coral damage caused by the influx of tourists, had to shut down again after just six months of reopening.

The tourism industry also joined. As an industry that has been hit severely by the pandemic, they decided to leverage the crisis to make changes and find a way out. They started with long-standing issues such as environmental protection and traveler safety. From sources such as airplanes, ships, and cars, the industry generates carbon emissions that account for 8% of the global total. Irresponsible travelers also frequently cause damage to nature. Last year, Maya Bay, a popular tourist destination in southern Thailand that had been closed for more than three years due to coral damage caused by the influx of tourists, had to shut down again after just six months of reopening.

Looking at global industry trends, companies in the tourism sector, such as airlines, accommodations, F&B, and leisure, are actively practicing ESG in their own ways to solve and prevent accumulated problems. Since 2017, Booking.com has been running the Booking Booster program to identify sustainable travel startups, providing €2 million to 10 startups each year, and Delta Air Lines has announced that it will invest $1 billion in 2020 to become “the world’s first carbon-neutral airline. Global hotel chains Marriott International and InterContinental Hotels Group also announced in 2019 that they would be replacing single-use amenity items with larger-sized dispensers. Moreover, in 2007, more than 400 governments, institutions, and travel industry companies joined the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) as members to collaborate on sustainable travel.

Led by the Korea Tourism Organization, South Korea is also working diligently to design sustainable tourism. In January 2022, the Korea Tourism Organization, the Korea Tourism Association, 17 regional tourism associations in metropolitan cities and provinces across the country, and eight tourism-related professional associations agreed to promote ESG jointly in tourism as a sustainable growth engine for the industry’s future and to implement and disseminate the practice across the industry. In addition, they are actively operating programs to discover and nurture ESG-focused tourism startups that will lead the future of tourism. This support has spawned a number of tourism ESG startups that are already making waves with tangible results in reducing the environmental impact of travel, directing travelers to alternative destinations, and helping people with vulnerability travel safely.

Now that COVID has become endemic, skyways and borders have reopened, and the tourism industry is gaining vitality like never before. According to the Korea Tourism Organization, the number of outbound tourists reached 7.65 million as of September 2023, a 60% recovery from the same period in 2019. A full recovery is expected in about a year. For the industry, the opportunity to rebound has arrived after a long, dark night. What did the Korean tourism industry do during that time to make tourism more sustainable? To explore this question, Forbes Korea interviewed the Korea Tourism Organization and MYSC and collected examples from ESG-focused tourism startups.

Global Standards for Sustainable Tourism

Founded in 2008 as a strategic alliance of the United Nations Foundation, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) is an international organization that establishes and maintains the GSTC Criteria, the international standard for sustainable travel and tourism, and accredits certification bodies in the sustainable tourism sector. The GSTC works closely with governments, institutions, and the travel industry around the world to build on these standards to protect the environmental, social, and cultural resources in tourism.

In South Korea, Suwon Metropolitan City and Jeju City are representative members, and internationally, many government organizations and institutions have developed and implemented related programs in cooperation with GSTC. In 2022, Türkiye is developing a national certification program based on the GSTC certification framework with the Türkiye Tourism Promotion and Development Agency build a sustainable travel industry optimized for its environment. Singapore has also partnered with GSTC to launch the Singapore Hotel Sustainability Roadmap to certify the sustainability of all accommodation facilities in the country.

Today, governments and organizations are increasingly taking the lead and implementing specific policies for sustainable tourism. Government intervention is a powerful catalyst for sustainability because sustainable development models, by their very nature, frequently conflict with profit-seeking interests in the private sector. In South Korea, the private sector and local governments are making various efforts to improve their sustainability as well. As opposed to adopting international trends in their entirety, it would be more advisable for them to bring together their own experience and understanding to find a unique direction that takes domestic conditions into account.

In addition, while ESG-related trends in South Korea have mainly emphasized the environmental aspect, ESG and sustainability must be considered from a comprehensive perspective that encompasses a wide variety of social issues.

-Written by Son Joon-sik, Assurance Planning Coordinator, GSTC

Park Yoon-sook, Executive Director, Tourism Companies Support Department, Korea Tourism Organization

“Realizing ESG in Tourism Through Balanced Development and Fostering Startups”

In South Korea, the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), a quasi-governmental organization under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, takes the initiative in introducing ESG into the tourism industry. During the pandemic, when most traveling had been halted, the agency has been preemptively preparing to take proactive action by conducting conceptual studies and case studies on ESG.

About three years into the COVID-19 pandemic, with the beginning of the endemic era, KTO has put its plans into action, ushering in an era of ESG tourism. In 2021, the agency held a joint ESG declaration ceremony for the sustainable growth of the tourism industry with 26 private associations, including the Korea Tourism Association. In the same year, it also started operating a tourism acceleration program with MYSC, a consulting and investment company specializing in social innovation, to discover and nurture startups in the tourism sector.

In addition, at the end of 2021, the South Korean government announced a plan to develop sustainable tourism and realize sustainable values over the next 10 years by establishing the Fourth Basic Plan for Tourism Development (2022-2031).

“The Korea Tourism Organization defines ESG in tourism as leading low-carbon and environmentally-friendly tourism (E), contributing to the growth of the tourism industry and regional development and practicing socially responsible activities (S), as well as strengthening ethics and management transparency (G). We are setting tasks and goals around these three keywords and engaging and supporting companies to participate,” explained Park Yoon-sook, Executive Director, Tourism Companies Support Department, Korea Tourism Organization.

According to her, the key to successfully implementing ESG in tourism is balanced development. If an international tourist visiting South Korea ends up visiting only a few tourist destinations in Seoul, the impact will not even in other parts of the country. To mitigate this situation, KTO focuses on developing regional tourism to strengthen the competitiveness of the industry. For example, KTO’s tourism industry development projects such as the Tourism Venture Competition, held for the 14th year, and the Tourism Global Challenge Program, which launched in 2020, select, foster, and support companies that will lead K-tourism in the endemic era. Park added, “From 2020 to 2022, when the program became more advanced, we attracted investment worth KRW 37.38 billion(over US$ 28 million), discovered and supported more than 1,500 tourism venture companies from 2011 to this year, and generated 67 successful cases of overseas expansion, including the International Tourism Support Center in Singapore that opened in August 2022.” The organization plans to open another office in Tokyo this year.

However, no market can escape the fundamental principle of supply and demand. No matter how well-intentioned we are at introducing ESG, it will only be sustainable if tourists recognize the need and are able to make their own choices. Park was optimistic about travelers’ demand for ESG.

“Among the ESG elements applied to tourism, the focus on the environmental factors continues to grow immensely. According to KTO’s 2023 Social Data Analysis of Tourism Trends, the traffic of eco-friendly travel keywords has increased more than 10 times compared to the pre-COVID era. Examples include zero-waste travel (leaving no trash behind), flogging (jogging while picking up trash), eco-tourism, and beachcombing (a conservation activity that involves picking up debris or trash that washes up on beaches). We monitored a noticeable increase in the number of photos with these hashtags on social media.”

While many of these keywords come from traveling abroad, the nature and types of such activities are gradually diversifying to accommodate local conditions in South Korea. For instance, Korea’s plant-based cuisine, which uses a variety of herbs and vegetables, has attracted great interest from vegetarians around the world. In particular, the wide range of ingredients and recipes for making bibimbap have become quite popular. Temple stays, which involve spending time in Buddhist temples, have emerged as one of the most beloved eco-friendly travel programs. “The recent trend of chonkangseu (rural vacations) takes place at eco-friendly accommodations that are carbon-neutral in nature,” Park added.

On the other hand, there are clear limitations to overcome. South Korea is a rapidly aging society with a declining birthrate and faces the problem of severe population drop in the provinces, which is a critical weakness in promoting governance (G).

“Despite planning policies in every industry, it is a realistic challenge to increase provincial populations. At KTO, we are looking at tourism as a way to revitalize regions that are heading toward extinction. For example, we established a regional balanced tourism team, supported workation projects that link provincial stays and tourism, and the issuance of digital tourism residency cards. KTO’s Tourism Support Office also promotes the “Better-Li” program. Through the program, we select tourism agencies that have a business model for increasing tourism population, discover business ideas that can increase the number of people living in depopulated areas, and conduct proof of concept (PoC).”

Most of KTO’s activities practice ESG management. Since 2021, it introduced the KTO ESG Index and has been encouraging all departments to apply it when conducting business. “It’s a way to closely monitor how we’re doing in terms of ESG, and we’re improving the system every year,” Park said.

In addition to marketing for inbound travel to Korea, the Tourism Support Office will continue to offer various customized fostering programs for tourism convergence ventures at each step of their growth in order to innovate the ecosystem of the global tourism industry.

“Although NTOs are generally limited to marketing inbound tourism, KTO is highly interested in revitalizing the tourism industry itself. We aim to help travel companies cope with unexpected changes in the global environment, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, discover new opportunities, converge with other industries, and expand the scope of the tourism market. We will continue to strive to create a win-win model by having public and private entities collaborate organically and bring about a paradigm shift in the global tourism industry.”

Strategic Tasks for KTO Management
●Advancement of the environmental management initiative system
●Reduction of energy consumption and GHG emissions
●Creation and support for a low-carbon, green travel environment
●Participation in global climate initiatives
●Promotion of regional prosperity and development through tourism
●Supporting tourism businesses and fostering tourism talent
●Support for suppliers’ ESG management and initiatives for shared growth
●Expansion of tourism welfare and travel services for consumers
●Establishment of an occupational safety reporting system
●Enhancement of organizational diversity and improvement of the workplace environment
●Cooperative labor relations and human rights protection
●Promotion of tourism-related CSR
●Vitalizing board diversity and operations
●Advancement of ethical management and internal check system
●Improvement in ESG disclosure and management transparency
●Operation of a performance management system for ESG performance

Lee Ye-ji, Chief Business Officer, MYSC

“ESG Implementation Strategies for Tourism Startups”

MYSC is an impact accelerator and investment firm founded in 2011 that currently incubates and invests in more than 150 domestic and overseas startups that solve social and environmental problems with over KRW 60 billion(over US$ 46 million) in AUM. It hosted the Tourism Global Challenge and Tourism Accelerating Program in collaboration with KTO to foster and invest in various tourism startups with domestic and international inbound and outbound targets.

“Startups that consider and adopt ESG factors in the early stage are able to save the cost of implementing ESG innovation later and obtain more business opportunities.”

MYSC CBO Lee Ye-ji explained why startups must practice ESG.

As someone who runs various startup incubation programs at MYSC, based on her experience so far, K-tourism companies that make an impact on ESG factors are far more attractive to international investors and local partners.

However, it is difficult for startups with limited capital, experience, and opportunities to practice ESG on their own. In reality, every startup’s utmost priority is survival, and ESG factors may be seen as an afterthought. To address this situation, MYSC has been on a challenging journey of looking at ESG from startups’ perspectives and finding points of application. Lee introduced two ESG practices for tourism startups that MYSC has been working on for many years.

The first is to improve startups’ understanding of ESG. At this stage, they begin to understand the current conditions of the market and recognize the need and direction for introducing ESG. According to her, consumer behaviors in tourism have changed recently compared to the pre-pandemic era. Lee pointed out that tourists want to go to different places in different ways now. While this may bring new areas into the spotlight, it can also have negative impacts, such as overtourism (concentration of tourists beyond the destination’s capacity) and touristification (touristify+gentrification, transformation of residential areas into tourist destinations).

“The conservation and balance of society and the environment is the major topic within the industry,” the CBO said, “and tourism startups must clearly define and understand the social and environmental impacts of their products or services and consider strategies to enhance positive impacts while reducing negative ones.” To this end, MYSC diagnoses the impact of startups based on a theory of change and measures the positive social and environmental outcomes that companies create through B Corp certification to help spread their impact.

The second strategy involves partnerships that reflect the change of business paradigms. In other words, this is the application and practice stage. Drawing on London Business School professor Alex Edmans’ concept of “Pieconomics”, which conceptualizes how pursuing social value grows the pie of society as a whole for long-term benefit, the CBO advised that tourism startups, which are often at the intersection of travel, accommodations, experiences, and mobility, can grow the market’s pie by creating social value.

“Through open innovation, MYSC also seeks to connect tourism startups with large corporations to grow the market’s pie.” When large corporations and startups collaborate, corporations are able to spend less time and money on innovation, and startups have the opportunity to accelerate their growth. It’s a win-win situation for everyone.

Through deliberate and smart strategies, MYSC is incubating over 100 tourism startups. Many of them are already making waves and gaining traction. “Goodlugg, Nature Mobility, Haenyeo's Kitchen, and NomadHer, among others, have demonstrated excellent ESG practices,” the CBO said.

Goodlugg participated in a demonstration project for special regulatory exceptions by the Korea Customs Service and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, helping ensure the right to mobility by receiving and transporting luggage for more than 2.3 million people with disabilities using Incheon International Airport. Nature Mobility, an eco-friendly mobility platform, contributes to reducing carbon emissions. Haenyeo’s Kitchen purchases marine products produced by local fishing communities at 10 to 20% higher prices than the market price for their own sale and contributes to the revitalization of the local economy by providing a development fund of KRW 10 million(over US$ 7,695) per year to Jongdal and Bukchon fishing village cooperatives. NomadHer also promotes sustainable tourism by providing a platform for female travelers to share information safely and find female companions.

Finally, the CBO said that MYSC will continue to identify and nurture tourism startups to help them achieve excellence in the ESG category.

“They cannot create impact by themselves within a short period of time. It involves a variety of stakeholders, including public institutions, local governments, and communities. Together with KTO, MYSC will serve as a hub to connect stakeholders and create opportunities for sustainable ESG growth of tourism startups in Korea and abroad.”

Examples of collaboration between large corporations and tourism startups

According to the UN World Food Programme (WFP), one-third of the food produced in the world each year is wasted. Nuvilab focused on such resource waste and environmental issues to develop an AI food scanner. It started with B2G applications in cafeterias, military units, schools, and governments and has now expanded to B2B, including hotels and airlines. By learning which in-flight meals passengers prefer and how much they leave behind, airlines are able to better forecast demand, reduce food waste, and create impact value. Applying this service in a corporate cafeteria operated by a large catering company created environmental value by reducing food costs by 6% and food waste by 11%. The company also collaborated with SK Telecom to reduce food waste using AI food scanning technology, reducing the amount of food waste by about 18.2%.

EMA (Extra-Mile Acceleration) Program

EMA is an acceleration program offered by MYSC. It discovers, nurtures, and invests in startups that will resolve social and environmental problems in their respective fields through innovation and excellence. MYSC has been running a program for tourism startups for the past few years, funded by a grant from KTO.

In addition to commercialization support of up to KRW 200 million(over US$ 15K) for selected companies, EMA x Global Tourism offers a variety of programs to help Korean startups go global, including ESG and impact consulting, IR consulting for attracting overseas investment in English, overseas VC demo days, and domestic and overseas business matching. EMA x Tourism is an incubation program for the growth of early-stage domestic tourism companies in the local, environmental, and tech sectors, supporting the financial growth (sales, employment, and investment) and social value creation of tourism startups through business advancement, ESG impact advancement, and resource linkage.

Leading Startups in ESG tourism

Here are eight ESG tourism startups that are improving social and environmental issues in the tourism industry with prompt execution and ingenious ideas.

Nature Mobility

▎CEO Lee Joo-sang

Nature Mobility operates the Zzimcar app, a global mobility hub platform that supports real-time booking for seven types of mobility services, including car rental, flight, rail, and tour taxi. CEO Lee Joo-sang, who worked at Samsung for 13 years, started his own operations in May 2018 with the goal of providing better rental car experiences after using an overpriced service during a trip to Jeju in 2017. While existing car rental companies only offer their own vehicles, forcing consumers to go to each website to compare prices, Zzimcar provides information on more than 20,000 vehicles, including 70 to 80% of the rental cars on Jeju Island. To this end, they built a win-win ecosystem by connecting efficient sales chains and minimizing fees for early-stage car rental providers, and secured transparency for consumers through reviews written by real service users and contactless vehicle returns. As a result, the company has grown at a CAGR of 154% over the past five years and has expanded into distributing electric vehicles and manufacturing folding helmets for personal mobility. It has partnered with 360 domestic and overseas suppliers and 45 merchants such as Coupang, Kakao Mobility, Yeogi Eottae, and MyRealTrip to conduct B2B business. Nature Mobility’s services are not just about being convenient and efficient. It has built and supplied an ERP/API system that enables 80 small car rental companies in Jeju to supply their vehicles to large distribution platforms, OTAs, and overseas sales chains continuously and efficiently. The startup also actively engaged in various activities, such as providing loans for companies suffering from financial difficulties. Furthermore, by applying autonomous vehicle deployment technology to ERP, Nature Mobility encourages car rental companies to expand the use of electric vehicles. It also distributes ETVAN, an energy-efficient electric vehicle, which has been well-received by small business owners and customers who want an affordable campervan, and has achieved sales of KRW 20 billion(US$ 15 million) this year. Having established a foothold in Korea, Nature Mobility plans to accelerate its global expansion. “Our resource management system enables suppliers to easily respond to competition while controlling profitability through AI-based price prediction technology and reduces labor costs by applying autonomous vehicle deployment technology for pick-up and drop-off,” said CEO Lee Joo-sang. “We expect it to be effective in building supply chains in Japan, Guam, Hawaii, and other places similar to Jeju.” Nature Mobility plans to expand mobility types to include international airlines and tour taxis and buses accommodating foreigners and differentiate its sales strategy through a travel planner system in addition to the price search-based reservation services.

Nuvilab

▎CEO Kim Dae-hoon

Nuvilab operates services that use AI technology to reduce food waste and help individuals manage their health. CEO Kim Dae-hoon, a former Hyundai Motor Group engineer, started the startup after seeing the huge amount of food waste generated at the cafeteria. He decided to solve the problem by applying his LiDAR sensor and distance measurement technology for autonomous driving. He developed a food scanner called Nuviscan, which uses a 3D camera to scan food and analyze the type and amount of food using AI to create big data. It also has a volume-sensing technology that can measure food portions to reduce waste and address individual eating habits. The process of managing cafeterias and large kitchens, which used to be based solely on the experience of managers, became more efficient by utilizing objective data based on food scanning analysis. Today, this idea that started from a cafeteria plays a key role in the tourism industry. The amount of food that is wasted in hotels and other hospitality establishments is significant, either because customer preferences are not effectively understood or because it is cooked in excess amounts.

Nuvilab applies data to understand customer preferences and portion sizes and helps establishments prepare the right amount of food. Businesses can reduce food waste and optimize food costs, and customers can consume more desirable and quality food for the same cost. Since launching in 2018, Nuvilab’s achievements are showcased by its performance. A corporate cafeteria in Seoul with an average daily capacity of 500 customers implemented Nuvilab’s service for three months and reduced food costs per meal by 6.0% and food waste by 10%. This translates to a reduction of approximately 553.4kg of greenhouse gas emissions. “Our goal is not only to reduce food waste and carbon emissions but also to digitalize the entire food market to increase efficiency and optimize operating costs,” said Kim, adding that the company plans to expand its business areas using the same approach. For example, the startup aims to apply personalized healthcare services to tourism products and facilities.

Eoding

▎CEO Kim Young-joon

Eoding is a travel startup founded in 2018 by CEO Kim Young-joon under the name REVHAT. REVHAT is an acronym for REVerse, Hotel, Airplane, and Tour, reflecting the three attributes of a travel agency and its commitment to revolutionizing the travel industry. After a career as an IT developer and planner in South Korea and abroad, Kim started a travel agency as a co-founder in 2016. He met with various travel industry stakeholders to understand what they do and saw many problems that could be solved by applying technology. After several tests and validation of hypotheses, he went on to start a company. Today, he operates a SaaS enterprise platform in the B2B sector, which changed its name to Eoding in 2022. Eoding is the Shopify of the travel industry that offers a tour-commerce structure rather than logistics and distribution-oriented e-commerce services. The company’s over 800 customers are mostly small and medium-sized travel agencies, both domestic and international. Eoding provides them with three core services: an ERP system, a web-builder system, and a CMS system. Of these, the ERP system is free of charge. This is a huge boost for small and medium-sized travel agencies that do not have the capital to build their own IT systems. Eoding also builds a database of various travel products from travel agencies and automatically supplies them to B2C platforms and OTAs for distribution. Eoding’s business model is the 1% fee it charges for the automated distribution of products, and it is one of the lowest in the industry. With the beginning of the endemic era, Eoding is growing rapidly alongside travel agencies. Currently, more than 25,000 travel products are available on Eoding, with a monthly transaction volume of about KRW 25 billion(US$ 19 million). “While what we see quantitatively is important, what’s even more meaningful is that the hypotheses we’ve been working on are actually working and validated in the market,” said Kim. “This is a critical source of motivation for us,” he explained.

Goodlugg

▎CEO Yun So-hee

The Goodlugg is the world’s first travel luggage platform that offers luggage delivery and storage services at travel destinations. Its core service is same-day luggage delivery between overseas hotels and airports. Customers drop off their luggage at the hotel checkout on the last day of their trip, and Goodlugg picks it up and delivers it to the airport desk, where it can be picked up by customers for their overnight flight. The service launched in August 2018 in three cities: Bangkok, Osaka, and Hanoi. The company now offers the same service in 15 major Asian cities and also operates a hotel-to-hotel transfer service that sends luggage separately when a traveler moves from one place to another. It doesn’t end there. The startup is making significant contributions to society by launching a service for the people who are most inconvenienced by luggage: the people with vulnerabilities in using transportation. It started with the idea of Goodlugg Supporters, a service that matches people traveling on the same flight schedule to help wheelchair users get on and off the plane while delivering the supporters’ luggage for free. At the time, Goodlugg had suggested this partnership to all the airlines. However, due to the practical difficulties of airlines, this proposal could not be implemented. In 2022, the company finally received approval for the world’s first baggage-free service for people with disabilities and vulnerabilities in using transportation. Through a special case project for a regulatory sandbox demonstration, Goodlugg staff picked up customers’ luggage from baggage claims within the security area of Incheon International Airport and delivered it to destinations such as Seoul, Busan, and Jeju. It has become a favorite service among international tourists, who have increased in number in the post-COVID era. Without any overseas marketing, the company has received positive reviews from a lot of Armies (k-pop group BTS’ fanbase) with disabilities, who came to South Korea to watch BTS’s 10th-anniversary festival in May. Recently, the startup has been developing an AI technology that recommends the optimal traveling plan for people with disabilities. “After analyzing the big data of people with disabilities using Incheon International Airport’s baggage-free service, we believe we will be able to recommend optimal accommodations and destinations for people with disabilities in Korea and abroad and cooperate with the KTO’s barrier-free open tourism project,” said CEO Yun So-hee. “We will pioneer services to the best of our ability so that everyone can enjoy traveling and feel free without luggage, regardless of their disabilities,” she added.

NomadHer

▎CEO Kim Hyo-jeong

NomadHer was founded in 2020 by Kim Hyo-jeong, who studied at Sciences Po and traveled by herself to more than 60 countries around the world. After experiencing near-miss incidents while traveling in Italy, she realized that it was still difficult for women to travel alone and started the company to change the situation. The initial goal was to create a global community that supports and connects women who want to travel solo. After three years of hard work and community building, NomadHer started offering three main services.

First, it allows tourists to travel with other verified travelers and meet up for meals or activities along the way.

Second, it provides tour programs for female travelers, such as the Bali Surf Camp and the Busan Women Travelers’ Surfing Camp. Third, it provides a channel for women travelers to share their travel experiences with each other. This is significant because the services enable women who have been reluctant to travel alone due to safety concerns to continuously share the challenges, growth, and inspiration from their trips with other women around the world. Sharing their experiences helped more women take the plunge to travel by themselves and discuss their successes with others, creating a virtuous cycle. In recognition of these achievements, NomadHer won the grand prize in the Women Empowerment category of the 2nd Awake Tourism Challenge, a worldwide competition among ESG tourism startups organized by the UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organization). NomadHer was recognized for its youth-oriented approach in local communities and the social impact of technology-enabled tourism. “We have set a goal to grow 10 times every year,” said Kim, CEO of NomadHer, “and our detailed plans include having at least 300,000 female travelers use NomadHer every month, monetizing our female traveler camps in Bali, Seoul, and Busan, and strengthening our B2B partnerships.”

Haenyeo’s Kitchen

▎CEO Kim Ha-won

Haenyeo’s Kitchen is the first haenyeo (female divers) dining in Korea. They buy fresh marine products from the local fishing village cooperatives, cook them in the meals they serve or process them for sale, and showcase performances featuring female divers. In addition to helping the village economy by purchasing haenyeo’s harvest at a price 10 to 20% higher than the market price, the startup actively contributes to the revitalization of the local economy by donating development funds of KRW 10 million(over US$ 7,695) annually to the Jongdal and Bukchon Fishing Village Cooperatives from the proceeds. At the helm of Haenyeo’s Kitchen is CEO Kim Ha-won. During her career in theater, she visited her hometown of Jeju and came across the unfortunate circumstances of marine products harvested by haenyeo. In particular, the top shell, which accounts for 40% of the village’s fishery output, had to rely on exports to Japan due to price competitiveness in the domestic market. Kim, who was born and raised in a family of haenyeo, came up with the idea of haenyeo dining by combining top shell with her experience in culture and arts and opened Haenyeo’s Kitchen in 2019. Today, the establishment is home to three generations of haenyeo, from young cultural artists in their 20s to the oldest haenyeo in their 90s, who tell the stories of their lives through art and generate revenue from theater-style restaurant service and marine product distribution. Recently, the company collaborated with Dongwon Group’s The Banchan to launch meal kits such as Haenyeo’s Kitchen Seaweed Soup with Top Shell and Haenyeo’s Kitchen Seasoned Gunso (Korean common sea hare). Deeply involved in social issues since its inception, Haenyeo’s Kitchen continues to practice goodwill in many ways. The first is to continue to preserve haenyeo and related cultures, which are inscribed in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and are unique assets of Korea. Haenyeo culture is valuable because it was created to coexist with nature, not to destroy it. They wait for the seasons of the sea and harvest only as much food as nature allows. This spirit is essential in today’s world, full of reckless damage to nature and greed that results in unfortunate events. It also contributes to boosting the self-confidence of haenyeo. The female divers, who never had the opportunity to study and had to jump into the sea daily to earn a living when they were young, have a sense of unforgettable achievement when they perform and receive loud applause from the audience. “Many of the audience say that they were also healed by watching the show,” said Kim. “We will continue to expand our efforts to promote the culture and spirit of haenyeo.”

Roof Kicker (eat.around)

▎CEO Kim Sun-jae

After traveling abroad and experiencing a wide variety of foods overseas, CEO Kim Sun-jae of Roof Kicker (eat.around) was disappointed that food tourism in Korea is focused on gourmet food. While it is great to eat delicious food, it’s not enough to understand the local culture, history, and lifestyle. To solve this problem, he launched a platform called eat.around to connect the locals and travelers for food-based experiences. eat.around focuses on more than just the taste—it tells the stories of local history, culture, and people through food. For example, the platform offers cooking classes using local ingredients, making and tasting traditional food, and tours where travelers can harvest local specialties and learn about the process. Through these experiences, it helps travelers gain a deeper understanding of local sentiments and values. At its core, the service provides various types of culinary tours. Cooking classes using local ingredients allow travelers to experience local traditions by cooking with their own hands. Through tasting traditional foods and drinks, meeting master chefs, and harvesting local specialties, they can experience local life in person. It also provides a deeper understanding of the local culture through food, connecting travelers with local hosts who can help them purchase ingredients or food after the trip is completed. eat.around’s services have been recognized for contributing significantly to social values by raising awareness of the Korean food tourism market, supporting the growth of local small businesses, and emphasizing mutual prosperity with local residents. Recently, the startup has been collaborating with the Jeju Tourism Organization on a project called KaReum Stay to discover and introduce the hidden charms of Jeju Island. It is also developing tourism content that involves the direct participation of residents in four villages in Seogwipo. “We aim to introduce global travelers to Korea’s fascinating food culture,” said CEO Kim Sun-jae. “We are preparing to expand nationwide beyond Jeju.”

Huple

▎CEO Kim Hong-lae

Huple offers JenTrip, an app that helps travelers plan their own trips. The startup was founded in 2019 by Kim Hong-lae, who was inspired by the restorative energy of traveling. In the age of hyper-personalization, Kim believed that travel should also meet the specific needs of individuals. His goal was to provide a sophisticated information service that would allow women and foreigners to travel with confidence. As a result of his hard work, JenTrip now offers a large volume of advanced information on travel destinations. Travelers can search for over 1000 local destinations and brands in Jeju, 90 in Seoul, and 60 in Hanoi, Vietnam. It also has a planner feature that allows users to easily create itineraries around their chosen destinations. It predicts the feasibility of travelers’ plans and provides weather and transportation information. Since May, the service has been linked to Chat GPT to offer personalized itinerary information in an interactive format. From the delivered information, JenTrip’s data system checks for errors and enhances it by categorizing whether the customer wants to travel to popular destinations or hidden gems. For safety, the most important aspect of traveling, it became the first travel platform to service safety maps. Information from over 60,000 data points in 21 categories, including weather, traffic, and convenience facilities, notifies travelers how to respond in the event of an emergency. At a time when rural extinction has become a social problem, the travel information provided by JenTrip across the country contributes significantly to dispersing travelers. In recognition of such achievements, Huple was selected as a Jeju Tourism Organization’s J-Startup in 2020 and won its place in KTO’s early tourism venture and tourism acceleration programs in 2021 and 2022. In addition, in 2021, the company was awarded the excellence award in the ESG category in “Tourism Venture of the Year,” selected by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and KTO. “This year, we were selected to participate in Future’s Lab, Shinhan Financial Group’s startup investment incubation program, in recognition of the potential for various business applications using personal traveler data derived from the travel planner feature,” said Kim. For its next step, Huple plans to create an international messenger service that enables users to communicate with locals in travel destinations.