지역소멸 위기에 대응한 관광 이동의 개념 탐색

Abstract

Recently, local extinction has received increasing attention in social and political discussions due to urbanization trends, out-migration from rural and local areas, and population aging in South Korea. However, there is no universally accepted definition or concept of local extinction, and limited research has been conducted on this social issue. In this context, this study explores a new concept of tourism mobility that establishes social relationships with local areas beyond simple population exchange, aiming to provide insights into effective response strategies for local extinction. The grounded theory approach by Strauss and Corbin (1990) was employed in this qualitative study. As a result, the study identified key themes from expert interviews, including social interest in the disappearance of local communities, population policies centered on the settled population, the role of tourism as a policy for attracting population inflow, tourism mobility and evolving concepts of tourism space, mutual gaze between residents and tourists, and the expansion of the scope of the tourism concept. The findings also presented sub-categories, concepts, a paradigm model, and the overall theoretical process. Based on these results, this paper offers several suggestions for future researchers and policymakers.