The '30th Jeju International Tourism Marathon Festival', organized by Jeju Special Self-Governing Province and the Provincial Tourism Association (Chairman Kang Dong-hoon), began accepting registrations on Thursday the 5th. [Photo=Jeju Tourism Association]

The '30th Jeju International Tourism Marathon Festival', organized by Jeju Special Self-Governing Province and the Provincial Tourism Association (Chairman Kang Dong-hoon), began accepting registrations on Thursday the 5th.

The Jeju International Tourism Marathon Festival started in 1995 as the province's first citizen participation marathon race, and it is a representative tourism sports event where domestic and international participants run together against the backdrop of Jeju's pristine coastal scenery.

It has established itself as a festival where marathon enthusiasts and tourists participate annually to experience Jeju's nature and tourism simultaneously, and this year's event will be held on Sunday, June 7th.

In particular, to commemorate its 30th anniversary, this year's event features a distributed hosting across two regions, Seongsan-eup and Gujwa-eup, to meet the increasing demand from participants, ensure safe event operations, and revitalize local businesses and commercial districts.

The 10km course will start from Goseong Sunrise Sports Park in Seongsan-eup and run through the Seongsan-eup area. The full and half marathon courses will start from Gujwa Comprehensive Sports Park as before and run along the Gujwa Sumi Coastal Road.

The Gujwa Sumi Coastal Road was designated as the 'No. 1 Tourist Road in Korea' by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport last year, and the Seongsan-eup course will run through the areas of Seongsan Ilchulbong, a representative tourist attraction of Jeju and a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site, and Gwangchigi Beach.

Therefore, participants are expected to fully enjoy Jeju's nature against the backdrop of beautiful coastal scenery.

In addition, participation events are planned to allow participants to engage in various tourism and consumption activities in the local areas during the event. This aims to encourage the use of local businesses and contribute to creating a virtuous cycle of regional economic revitalization and tourism consumption.

With the expansion of the event's scale, the number of participants to be recruited is also significantly increasing. Last year, with 8,900 registered participants and approximately 10,000 on-site participants, it recorded the largest scale in history, and this year, with the distributed hosting across regions, it is anticipated that even more participants will flock to the event.

Participants will receive sportswear from a professional sports brand and commemorative gifts, and awards will be presented for each category and age group. Notably, the first-place winners of the full and half marathon courses will receive special benefits for participating in overseas marathons.

Furthermore, as an international sports tourism event, in addition to inviting overseas institutions and organizations, recruitment of foreign participants will also be conducted through travel agencies and individual applications. Special benefits will be provided for groups of foreign participants.

Meanwhile, applications will close on Friday, April 17th (registration may close early on a first-come, first-served basis), and can be submitted through the official website of the Jeju International Tourism Marathon Festival. Companies and brands within and outside the province interested in sponsoring or supporting the event can contact the Jeju Tourism Association's Marketing Department.

Reporter Lim Yo-hee