As the number of foreign tourists visiting South Korea increases, complaints about tourism have surpassed last year's total within just seven months. More than 80% of the complainants were foreigners.
During a National Assembly audit on October 14, Im O-kyung, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party, emphasized the importance of encouraging tourists to return to South Korea and urged for swift measures to improve revisit rates.
According to data from the Korea Tourism Organization's complaint center presented by Im, there were 1,753 complaints filed from January to July this year, exceeding the total of 1,744 complaints recorded for all of last year, marking the highest number ever.
Im highlighted issues faced by foreign tourists, including inflated taxi fares, accommodation scams, and unilateral cancellations of reservations.
“84.3% of the complainants are foreigners, and they have pointed out ongoing issues such as overcharging and a lack of trash bins,” Im said. “Tourists who visit our country say they will never come back. If this perception spreads, will foreign tourists want to return?”
Im cited Japan as an example, noting that the country welcomed approximately 42.7 million foreign tourists last year, setting a new record. Japan's revisit rate stands at 64.7%, which is 8.1 percentage points higher than South Korea's rate of 56.6%.
Im also addressed the concentration of foreign visitors in the capital region. Last year, South Korea recorded a historic 18.94 million foreign visitors, with 81.7% of them visiting the capital area. In contrast, the visitation rates for Busan and Jeju were only 15.7% and 9.7%, respectively. Despite various regional tourism initiatives by the Korea Tourism Organization, the concentration in the capital region remains unresolved, according to Im.
Research indicates that tourists who venture beyond the capital tend to spend more and report higher satisfaction levels. According to a K-pop fandom survey by the Korea Tourism Organization, tourists who engaged in K-pop-related activities and visited regional areas spent an average of $1,553.60, about 68% more than those who only visited the capital ($924.30). Additionally, 67.9% of regional visitors reported being 'very satisfied' with their trips, compared to 63.2% of those who stayed in the capital.
Many respondents were repeat visitors, with 57.5% (6,564 individuals) of the 11,415 surveyed having visited South Korea before, averaging 5.6 visits. Furthermore, 15.3% reported visiting more than ten times.
However, the survey also revealed that some tourists hesitated to visit the hometowns or filming locations of K-pop artists due to a lack of transportation options and tourist information. Im called for improvements in transportation, multilingual tourist information, and tourism products to convert regional tourism demand into actual visits.
Im argued that the criteria for evaluating tourism policy outcomes should be broadened. In addition to the number of foreign visitors and participants in tourism projects, metrics such as regional visitation rates, length of stay, per capita regional spending, and revisit rates should also be considered. He urged a review of various initiatives, including digital tourism resident cards, half-price travel, and regional airports, to ensure they lead to actual regional stays and spending.
“The record of 18.94 million foreign visitors should not be seen as a success solely for Seoul and the capital region,” Im stated. “In the era of 30 million foreign visitors, the focus should not just be on how many we brought in, but on how many stayed in the regions, for how long, and how much they spent.”
Park Seong-hyeok, President of the Korea Tourism Organization, responded, “We will establish a system to thoroughly reflect the feedback of foreign tourists and will collaborate with relevant departments to contribute to making South Korea a place that tourists want to revisit.”
* This article has been translated by AI.
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