AHP를 활용한 제주특별자치도의 접근가능한 관광정책 우선순위 결정

Abstract

In recent decades, there has been a strong emphasis on equal rights and on embracing these rights as fundamental human rights in society. Providing an equal chance to travel has also become an important social issue. The term ‘Accessible tourism’ has been introduced to address this issue to promote equality in travel. Accessible tourism aims to provide opportunities to travel for all people comprises seniors, pregnant women, disabled people and parents with children, enabling them to travel with dignity and no barriers. The increased population of seniors and individuals with disabilities has contributed to the growing interest in accessible tourism, which ensures that everyone has the opportunity to experience a fulfilling travel journey. The development of accessible tourism has also impacted tourism in South Korea. In 2015, the Korean government launched the Accessible Tourist Attraction Development Project, designed to make tourist destinations accessible to everyone. The following extended demands for accessibility in urban areas led to the implementation of the Accessible Touristic City Development Project in 2022. However, Jeju Island, a renowned tourist region, has not received the same degree of support and subsidies as other areas through these development projects since the Jeju provincial government has its own tourism fund. It is important that the Jeju regional government provides sufficient support for accessible tourism on the island. A study conducted by the Jeju government exposed that the current state of accessible tourism in Jeju is unsatisfactory. Based on these contexts, this study aims to identify and prioritize the appropriate policies for improving the accessible tourism environment in Jeju. As a first process, five key criteria to improve accessible tourism were identified from previous studies: supporting the improvement of the physical environment; establishing an accessible system for tourism information; assisting education for tourism workers; supplementing the discovery of tourism content; providing an institutional support system. A Delphi analysis was conducted to further explore the more specific goals of the five previously identified criteria for enhancing accessible tourism. The first Delphi survey received 17 responses from 24 certified tourism specialists in Jeju, resulting in the identification of 10 sub-criteria related to improving the physical environment, 17 sub-criteria related to establishing an accessible tourism information system, 13 sub-criteria related to supporting education for tourism workers, 9 sub-criteria related to supplementing the discovery of tourism content and 13 sub-criteria related to establishing an institutional support system. The following second survey determined which sub-criteria were most vital among those identified in the first Delphi survey. A 5-point Likert scale was used for this second Delphi survey, which was administered to the 17 specialists who had responded to the first survey. A total of 16 responses were collected. Ultimately, a total of 22 sub-criteria were identified as the most critical. An Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was conducted as a final procedure. This involved administering a third survey to the 16 respondents. They were each given pairwise comparison questions to compare the identified 5 criteria and 22 sub-criteria individually. The responses to the questionary were utilized to determine which policies should be prioritized. The final survey was repeated until all responses met the credibility criterion, which is defined as a consistency ratio of less than 10 percent. The results of the study reveal that the most vital need for advancing accessible tourism in Jeju region is improving the physical environment (40.6%), followed by establishing an accessible tourism information system (19.7%), supporting education for tourism workers (17.4%), supplementing the discovery of tourism content (15.1%) and providing an institutional support system (7.2%). Among the specific goals identified, the most urgent need was discovered as improving transportation accessibility (16.6%), followed by renovating facilities (14.3%). Moreover, other responses, such as developing customized travel content and programs for parents with small children, disabled and elderly people (7.7%) and providing information approach systems for parents with small children, disabled and elderly people (7.4%), were also recognized as urgent policy. Our society must strive to create an accessible tourism environment from the government level. In this way, it is essential to understand and focus on the priorities of the accessible tourism policy. The results of this study address the practical needs and directions for developing an optimized accessible tourism policy in Jeju Island.