Gyeonggi Province-Consulted 'Glamping Dome Tent' Approved for Regulatory Sandbox Demonstration Exception

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Park No-hoon] A 'prefabricated dome tent for glamping' made of durable fiberglass-reinforced plastic has now cleared current regulatory hurdles and made it possible to use at actual camping sites.

Gyeonggi Province announced on the 8th that the regulatory sandbox project 'prefabricated dome tent for glamping' that the province consulted on was approved for demonstration exception at the first 2022 Industrial Convergence Regulatory Exception Review Committee held by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on the 25th of last month.

A regulatory sandbox is a system that grants special exceptions to allow new products and services using innovative technologies to be released on the market and tested and verified for a certain period by exempting or postponing current regulations for new industry innovative growth.

Companies wishing to utilize this system must obtain approval from relevant government agencies including the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of Science and ICT, and the Financial Services Commission.

Human and Space's prefabricated glamping dome tent, which received approval for demonstration exception through Gyeonggi Province consultation, is manufactured from a material made by inserting fiberglass between plastic resin called Fiber Reinforced Plastics, increasing durability.

Compared to existing canvas tents, it offers superior insulation and windproof functions enabling a comfortable indoor environment and has a semi-permanent lifespan resulting in longer use periods.

The problem is that under the current Tourism Promotion Act, camping facilities are specified to use canvas as the main material, making it impossible to use fiberglass-reinforced plastic products.

The review committee approved the demonstration exception on the condition of complying with safety standards presented by relevant government agencies, as there is a company currently conducting demonstration (Dome Island) in a similar case to the demonstration exception approval in 2020.

Accordingly, during the demonstration period, operations are limited to a maximum of 180 units, multi-story structures are prohibited, the size of each building is limited to 24㎡ or less, and safety standards must be met including installation of two entrances and constant placement of fire extinguishers inside.

Human and Space plans to provide services by installing and operating the manufactured prefabricated dome tents at camping sites.

The province provided various customized consultation to the company for demonstration exception approval, from preparing application documents to market research and advisory on point-of-contention coordination through legal experts.

With this demonstration exception approval, glamping users will be able to experience new camping in safe and comfortable facilities, and the province expects this will contribute to revitalizing the camping industry.

Meanwhile, the province begins recruiting applications for the 2022 regulatory sandbox activation support project starting from the 8th. Small and medium-sized enterprises located in Gyeonggi Province that wish to use the regulatory sandbox system or companies approved for the regulatory sandbox can apply through the EasyBiz (www.egbiz.or.kr) system.

Companies wishing to receive consultation regarding the regulatory sandbox can inquire at the Gyeonggi Province Regulatory Reform Division (031-8008-4287) or the Gyeonggi Province Economy and Science Promotion Agency (031-259-6276).