Tourist Convenience Facility Business Designation Procedure — Designation Standards and Where to Apply for Tourist Restaurants, Tourist Pensions and Tourism Support Services

Procedure

1. 1. Confirm the business type and where to apply

   First determine which type under Article 2(1)6 of the Enforcement Decree your business falls into. Tourist restaurants, tourist photography and passenger terminal facility businesses are designated by the regional tourism association, while tourist entertainment restaurants, tourist theater entertainment, foreigner-only entertainment restaurants, tourist circulation buses, tourist pensions, tourist tramways, tourist duty-free shops and tourism support services are designated by the mayor of a special self-governing city, governor of a special self-governing province, or the mayor, county head or district head. The tourist pension provision does not apply in Jeju Special Self-Governing Province.

2. 2. Check the prerequisite licenses

   Designation as a tourist convenience facility business assumes the operator already holds the license for the underlying business. A tourist restaurant is applied for by a general restaurant operator under the food sanitation laws, a tourist pension by a person operating lodging facilities, a tourist circulation bus by a person holding a passenger transport business license or registration, and a tourist duty-free shop by a person holding a bonded store patent or duty-free store designation. A copy of that license is attached to the designation application.

3. 3. Check the designation standards for your type

   Compare each item against Annex 2 of the Enforcement Rule. A tourist restaurant needs qualified cooking staff, a menu with at least one foreign language, and separate men's and women's restrooms with separate entrances, while a tourist pension needs a building of 4 floors or fewer, 30 rooms or fewer, cooking and lodging equipment, at least 1 type of amenity such as a barbecue area, and foreign-language signage. A tourism support service must meet one of the following: at least 50% of sales from transactions with tourists or tourism operators, a business site in a designated tourist destination or tourism complex, Korea Quality tourism certification, or selection as an outstanding tourism business, and it must also ensure tourist safety.

4. 4. Submit the designation application

   Submit the tourist convenience facility business designation application (Form No. 21) with documents on the applicant's identity, a copy of the license for the business type, and a facility layout or photos with a floor plan. City, county and district offices check the corporate registration certificate and business registration certificate through shared administrative information, but for types delegated to tourism associations the applicant attaches these documents directly. The fee is 20,000 won.

5. 5. Receive the designation certificate and post the signs

   If the application meets the designation standards, a tourist convenience facility business designation certificate (Form No. 22) is issued and the trade name, representative and location are entered in the designation register. After designation, the business may post the tourism business sign and the certificate, and a tourist restaurant may also post the tourist restaurant sign. If designated matters such as the trade name or location change, the change procedure must be followed.

Required documents

• Tourist convenience facility business designation application (Enforcement Rule of the Tourism Promotion Act, Form No. 21)
• Document stating the name and resident registration number of the applicant (for a corporation, the representative and officers); for foreign nationals, documents proving no grounds for disqualification
• Copy of the license, permit, patent, designation, registration or report certificate for the business type (only for businesses requiring such approval under other laws)
• Facility layout or photos and floor plan
• One of: an average sales review opinion, proof of location in a tourist destination or tourism complex, proof of Korea Quality certification, or proof of selection as an outstanding tourism business (tourism support services only)
• Corporate registration certificate and business registration certificate (attached directly for types applied to a tourism association)
• Letter of authorization (when submitted by an agent)

Fees

Industry fees generally range from several hundred thousand won to around one million won. The fee is provided after consultation, depending on the business type, whether prerequisite licenses are already held, and the extent of work needed to meet the designation standards. Government fees (20,000 won for the designation application) and facility improvement costs are separate.

See fees and official charges for this service →

Legal basis and review date

• Tourism Promotion Act, Article 3
• Tourism Promotion Act, Article 6
• Tourism Promotion Act, Article 7
• Tourism Promotion Act, Article 10
• Tourism Promotion Act, Article 86
• Enforcement Decree of the Tourism Promotion Act, Article 2
• Enforcement Decree of the Tourism Promotion Act, Article 65
• Enforcement Rule of the Tourism Promotion Act, Article 14
• Enforcement Rule of the Tourism Promotion Act, Article 15
• Enforcement Rule of the Tourism Promotion Act, Article 19
• Enforcement Rule of the Tourism Promotion Act, Annex 2
• Enforcement Rule of the Tourism Promotion Act, Annex 23
• Enforcement Rule of the Tourism Promotion Act, Form No. 21
• Enforcement Rule of the Tourism Promotion Act, Form No. 22

Checked against the statutes on 2026-10-12

Statutes and public notices change, so each case needs to be checked individually. Statute titles are given in English for reference. The Korean statutes are the authoritative text.

Check these first

• Designation as a tourist convenience facility business does not replace the license for the underlying business, such as a general restaurant, lodging business or passenger transport business, so obtain the prerequisite license before applying.
• Tourism businesses that must be registered, permitted, designated or reported under other laws are excluded from tourism support services, so first check whether the business is already registered as another tourism business.

Frequently asked questions