'Winter Leisure Sports Mecca Gangwon' Recorded 130 Million Visitors Last Year... 0.7% Decrease Compared to Previous Year

'Social Distancing' Acts as Major Factor in Visitor Decline
Winter Mountain Hiking Tourist Spots in Spotlight... Approximately 145.9 Billion Won Spent

[Source=Gangwon-do Tourism Foundation]

[Asia Economy Reporter La Young-cheol] Despite tourism restrictions due to the spread of COVID-19, the total number of tourists visiting Gangwon Province throughout 2021 was recorded at a level similar to the previous year.

According to the 2021 Big Data-Based Gangwon Tourism Trend Analysis released by the Gangwon Tourism Foundation on the 27th, the total number of visitors to Gangwon Province last year was approximately 130.32 million. This represents a 0.7% decrease compared to 2020.

In particular, compared to January 2020, when COVID-19 had not yet occurred domestically, the decrease of about 6.6 million visitors in January last year was analyzed to have had a significant impact on the annual visitor number change.

Additionally, the suspension of ski resort operations within the province during the 2020/2021 season, restrictions on the use of some ski resort facilities, and the strict social distancing measures implemented mainly along the East Coast during last summer were cited as major factors for the decline in visitors.

The total number of tourists visiting the province in December last year was about 11.01 million, showing an increase of approximately 960,000 visitors compared to the previous month, a growth rate of 9.6%, and an increase of about 2.8 million visitors compared to the same period the previous year, representing a 34.2% growth rate.

The increase was analyzed to be due to the rise in tourists enjoying winter sports in December, which is traditionally an off-season following November.

By city and county, visits increased in seven areas including Taebaek (16.8%) and Pyeongchang (15.7%), with the growth spreading mainly around cities and counties with resorts where winter sports can be enjoyed.

Among major tourist spots, Gyebangsan in Pyeongchang (Hongcheon) was spotlighted as a winter hiking destination at Unduryeong, showing a 72% increase compared to the previous year and a 99% increase compared to the previous month. It was analyzed to have gained popularity due to its moderate hiking courses and the unique winter snow-covered mountains of Gangwon Province.

Monthly Status of Tourists in Gangwon Province [Gangwon-do Tourism Foundation]

With the ski season underway, Elysian Gangchon saw ITX Cheongchun trains stopping 6 to 14 times at Baekyang-ri Station, attracting night and day skiers, resulting in a 94% increase compared to the previous year and a 105% increase compared to the previous month.

Recently, the introduction of integrated discounts for seven representative tourist spots in the Chuncheon area, including Nami Island, and the operation of the X3 integrated season pass by the three companies Phoenix Pyeongchang, Yongpyong Resort, and High1 Resort led most ski resorts in Gangwon Province to show a tourist increase of over 100% compared to the previous year.

Cheorwon-gun DMZ Durumi Peace Town saw a 41% increase compared to the previous year and a 51% increase compared to the previous month due to tourists visiting to see the cranes that come to winter Cheorwon.

In terms of tourism consumption, the scale reached approximately 145.9 billion KRW. Tourist spending in December 2021 was 18.5 billion KRW, which is an 11.3% decrease from November but a 38.1% increase from the previous year, amounting to an increase of 40.2 billion KRW.

This indicates that while the number of tourists increased in December compared to November, consumption actually decreased. However, consumption also increased compared to the same period the previous year. Notably, the consumption decrease was significant among those in their 50s and 60s, while those in their 20s and 30s showed relatively smaller decreases.

Won Moon-gyu, Director of Tourism Marketing, stated, "Gangwon Province continues to maintain its reputation as a mecca for winter leisure sports, and unique winter tourism spots by region are steadily attracting tourists."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.