Activating 'K-Tourism' to Boost Domestic Demand

'Comprehensive Measures to Revitalize Domestic Demand' Focus on Tourism
Major Countries Targeted for Large-scale 'Korea Sales'
Expansion Plans for Accommodation Vouchers and Worker Vacation Support Also Discussed

The government is set to boost domestic demand through 'K-Tourism' by recovering overseas tourists and revitalizing domestic travel. The strategy aims to increase the number of overseas tourists, which sharply declined after COVID-19, and encourage Korean citizens to travel domestically instead of abroad to stimulate the domestic economy.

On the 9th, a government official stated, "As part of the comprehensive measures for domestic demand revitalization ordered by President Yoon Seok-yeol last month, relevant ministries are discussing plans to promote K-Tourism," adding, "Attracting more overseas tourists is crucial for small business owners who have been directly hit by the decline in foreign visitors due to COVID-19, as this directly impacts domestic demand revitalization."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The immediate priority is to restore the scale of overseas tourists, which shrank after COVID-19. According to the Tourism Knowledge Information System, the number of overseas travelers was 17,502,756 in 2019, just before the pandemic, but dropped sharply to 2,519,118 in 2020 and 967,003 in 2021. In 2022, there was a slight recovery with 3,198,017 visitors to Korea, but this was only 19.3% of the 2019 level. To revitalize the domestic economy through K-Tourism, attracting more overseas travelers is urgent. In January this year, 434,429 people visited Korea, showing a recovery trend with more than a fivefold increase compared to January last year, but it still falls short of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's target of attracting 10 million overseas tourists.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism plans to launch a large-scale 'Korea Sales' campaign targeting major countries. A ministry official said, "Overseas tourism from Japan and China, which have traditionally sent many visitors to Korea, must recover first," and added, "Including these, we are planning to hold 'Korea Tourism Roadshows' in major cities of 15 countries such as Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines within this year."

The government also intends to actively encourage domestic tourism among Korean citizens. Through the 'My Country Travel Expo' in April, competitive tourism products from local governments will be introduced, and in June, considered an off-season for travel due to the upcoming summer vacation, a 'Travel Month' campaign will be conducted.

Additional financial investment to revitalize domestic travel is also being considered, focusing on previously proven effective measures such as issuing 'accommodation discount coupons' or the 'Worker Vacation Support Program.' In 2021, the government temporarily supported accommodation discount coupons worth 41.8 billion KRW. Using these coupons, domestic accommodation bookings could receive discounts of 20,000 to 30,000 KRW. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism analyzed that issuing accommodation discount coupons to about 780,000 people resulted in sales of 94.4 billion KRW and travel consumption of 310.8 billion KRW, significantly contributing to the revitalization of the domestic economy. The Worker Vacation Support Program allows workers to save 200,000 KRW, with companies and the government each adding 100,000 KRW, enabling a total of 400,000 KRW to be used for domestic travel expenses. This year, a budget of 9.9 billion KRW was allocated to support 90,000 people, but participation has already closed.

A government official said, "Accommodation discount coupons and the Worker Vacation Support Program are projects that can activate domestic travel with minimal financial input," and added, "Since their effectiveness has been proven, the tourism authority and budget authorities are discussing ways to secure additional budgets for further projects."

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