With over 15 million tourists visiting the island per year, Jeju Province is accelerating the establishment of a barrier-free tourism environment.

The province is initiating the Jeju Wheel Navigation project with the 910 million won from the open contest hosted by the Ministry of Science and ICT. Last month, it announced the plans to collect data for barrier-free tourism and recruited operators.

The Jeju Wheel Navigation Project aims to provide wheelchair users with precise road information down to 1cm with the Global Satellite Navigation System (GNSS). It will build detailed road surface data for major tourist destinations in the province through LIDAR scanning using drones and provide navigation service through the project partner SK Telecom’s T-map application.

The project plans to collect data from 30 major tourist destinations, including Jeju Stone Park, Seopjikoji, Saebyeol Oreum, and Cheonjiyeon Falls. Jeju Province intends to conduct field demonstrations with wheelchair users in October, complete the Jeju Wheel Navigation project by the end of this year, and commercialize the service early next year.

“For wheelchair users, the importance of detailed road surface information is beyond the imagination of non-users,” said Kim Ki-hong, director of Jeju’s Digital Convergence Division. “In the future, we plan to produce a documentary-style video and promote this service domestically and abroad. We expect it to help break down barriers to traveling Jeju for wheelchair users,” he added.

Moreover, since March, Jeju Province has been adjusting the curb height for 100 public transportation facilities and adding 148 low-floor buses to the public transit system.