South Korea is on track to welcome over 20 million foreign tourists this year. From January to August, 15.04 million foreigners visited the country. If an additional 4.95 million arrive in the remaining four months, it will mark the first time South Korea surpasses 20 million visitors. In the same four months last year, approximately 6.56 million entered the country. If the current trend continues, a scene of presenting a bouquet to the 20 millionth visitor at the airport could unfold before the year ends.
This is a welcome record. After reaching 17.5 million visitors in 2019, South Korea's tourism was halted by COVID-19, but last year saw a new record of 18.94 million. This year, just a year later, the country is eyeing the 20 million mark. The government is already looking beyond that, with Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Choi Hwi-young stating in a presidential briefing last month, "We aim to achieve 30 million tourists early and prepare for a 40 million era."
As the goals grow, so do the questions. With the increase in visitors, is there also an increase in spending?
From January to August, foreign tourists spent 14.18 trillion won in the tourism sector using credit cards. This represents a 48.5% increase compared to last year, significantly outpacing the 21.6% growth in visitor numbers. At first glance, these figures seem impressive. However, a closer look at monthly data reveals a different story.
Card spending peaked at 2.12 trillion won in May, then fell to 2.06 trillion won in June, 1.95 trillion won in July, and 1.93 trillion won in August, marking three consecutive months of decline. During the same period, the number of visitors increased from 1.95 million to 2.25 million, setting new monthly records. Dividing the spending by the number of visitors shows that the average expenditure per person dropped from 1.09 million won in May to 860,000 won in August. While this statistic includes online payments and cannot be interpreted as actual per capita spending, it is clear that while the number of tourists is rising, card spending is declining.
Regional tourism also warrants closer examination. From January to August, the number of foreign arrivals at regional airports increased by 38.2% to 2.83 million. When including regional ports, foreign visitors entering through these gateways accounted for 27.8% of the total. This figure raises hopes for a revival in regional tourism.
However, entry statistics only indicate where planes and ships have landed. They do not reveal whether tourists stayed overnight in those areas, spent money, or boarded a KTX train to Seoul the next morning. The expansion of gateways and the revival of regional tourism are not synonymous.
The impact of each tourist also varies. A tourist who stays one day in Seoul is counted the same as one who spends three to four days exploring the regions. Spending an extra day in a local area, having an additional meal, or making one more purchase can significantly change the economic benefit for that region. This highlights the importance of encouraging already arrived tourists to extend their stay.
At this point, the government may need to reconsider how it measures tourism success. What if, alongside visitor numbers, metrics such as per capita spending, length of stay, and regional accommodation and consumption were analyzed together? While entry records can count heads, the nuances of stay and spending require deeper analysis. The metrics we choose to measure can influence the policies we pursue.
Even as we aim for 30 million and 40 million visitors, simply changing the leading digit does not automatically expand the tourism sector's size and substance.
On the day the 20 millionth tourist is presented with a bouquet, cameras will capture the smiling face of that individual. At that moment, we should also ask how many days they will stay in Korea and what they will spend their money on outside of Seoul.
It is still too early to be intoxicated by the number 20 million.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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