Abstract
To select 10 representatives for the ecotourism networks around the areas bordering national rivers in Korea, the spatial ranges for ecotourism have been established, the ecotourism potential analyzed, and the ecotourism resources information collected by the Regional Environmental Offices and the Korea National Park Service has undergone reviews, amendments, supplements, and verification processes through familiarization tour previews, and the following main results have been derived. First, the spatial ranges of the eco-tourism networks have been set as the watershed areas that include areas around the four major rivers and the rivers. Second, the areas with high potential value for ecotourism were selected through the analysis of ecotourism potential. Since EGIS was used for the analysis, it was inevitable that insufficient amount of localized information was reflected, and the use of the results as reference for the potential would be feasible. Third, it was possible, by reviewing, amending and complementing the results of ecological resource information collected by the Regional Environmental Offices and the Korea National Park Service, to select 50 representative ecological resources around the national rivers. The selected resources were considered for the adjacency, attractiveness of ecological resources, and uniqueness of the national rivers, and they were derived by screening expert advice, official opinion, and geographical analysis information. Fourth, 10 representative ecotourism networks based on watershed areas were selected, and suitable themes were given based on the resource characteristics. Fifth, the appropriateness for ecotourism has been confirmed, with the familiarization tour previews and survey results, preservation of the future ecotourism resources, and the establishment of the foundation as the basis. In the future, the remaining 9 ecotourism networks would also need to undergo a verification process such as familiarization tours. It is deemed that, through future ecotourism contests, if the programs that select locally-pioneered tourism programs resulting from the capacities of local entities and residents, then it would be more effective in discovering resources that are more localized and of higher regional value.
