Linking Walkable Urbanism and Hiking Tourism in a Mountainous Metropolitan City

Lankyung Kim and Chul Jeong ()
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Lankyung Kim: Lab of Tourism Information Management, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763, Republic of Korea
Chul Jeong: Department of Tourism, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763, Republic of Korea

Land, 2025, vol. 14, issue 9, 1-20

Abstract: Mountains in metropolitan cities serve as fundamental features that shape urban landscapes. When incorporated into leisure contexts, mountain resources enhance community well-being and contribute to tourism. However, existing studies rarely address urban mountain tourism within the broader context of political implementation or its role in sustainable urban development. This study explores Seoul, a mountainous city that is experiencing a growing interest in hiking tourism among foreign visitors. Two approaches were used in this study. First, institutional narratives at the national and municipal levels were analyzed to understand how mountain leisure was promoted within sustainable urban agendas around the new millennium. Official documents reveal that the city has been developing pedestrian-centered urban regeneration and promoting welfare provision through urban greening strategies. Second, 8862 hiking reviews posted by international tourists on AllTrail were analyzed to identify the experiential attributes. The findings confirm that accessibility and aesthetics are the dominant attractions for hiking tourism in Seoul. Accessibility stems from pedestrian-centered development, whereas aesthetics reflect strategies that promote nature-based leisure for urban residents. This study suggests that hiking tourism in the metropolitan context has practical implications for integrating mountain resources into sustainable city planning.

Keywords: mountainous city; walkable urbanism; nature-based leisure; hiking tourism; institutional narratives; corpus analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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