Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Lee Dong-Phil (center), Belinda Johnson (left), chief business affairs and legal officer at Airbnb, and Executive Vice Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry Lee Dong-geun pose for a commemorative photo after signing an agreement to jointly work on revitalizing rural tourism in Korea.
On April 20, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs entered a partnership with Airbnb, a platform that allows people to list, find and rent a range of bed-and-breakfast lodging options around the world. The move is part of the ministry's efforts to attract more tourists, both domestic and international, to rural areas across Korea.
Under the agreement, the ministry will take advantage of Airbnb's platform to not only bring more travelers to rural regions across the nation, but also to improve the quality of lodging facilities and services.
A total of 215 “excellent B&B accommodations” will be selected among others available in farming regions, and then will be registered in the Airbnb booking system. The website will list the select group of lodging facilities for its users to find with ease, and will also offer information about nearby tourist attractions.
Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Lee Dong-Phil (second from right) and Belinda Johnson (second from left), chief business affairs and legal officer at Airbnb, tour the Oeam Historic Village in Asan, Chungcheongnam-do Province.
“This partnership will reveal to the world less-known tourism assets that are retained by farming areas across the nation,” said Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Lee Dong-Phil during the signing ceremony. “This will improve lodging services, which will in turn lead to satisfying travelers in those regions,” he added.
In response, Belinda Johnson, chief business affairs and legal officer at Airbnb, said that, “With this cooperation, Airbnb will play a crucial role in helping to invigorate rural tourism here. We will cooperate to give tourists coming to Korea a chance to enjoy a special trip to farming areas in Korea.”
Airbnb, based in San Francisco, started business in 2008 and has since grown into a global accommodations site. It has about two million listings in more than 33,000 cities worldwide. The cumulative number of Airbnb users as of now comes to more than 80 million.
By Sohn JiAe
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photos: the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs
jiae5853@korea.kr