Foreigners Also Seek Emotional Cafes... Card Payments in Seongsu-dong Up 973%

Increase in Sales at Experience Spaces like Cafes as Independent Travel Rises
Group Tour Shopping Sales Drop by 21%P Compared to Last Year

After the COVID-19 endemic (becoming an endemic disease), the focus in foreign tourism shifted from group tours to individual travel, making 'shopping tourism' a thing of the past. The number of sales transactions in the shopping sector decreased, shifting instead to experiences and transportation.

On the 13th, BC Card announced the results of an analysis comparing card payment data from 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, and 2023, after the transition to an endemic. As the number of foreign tourists traveling independently to Korea increased, consumption trends shifted toward experiences and transportation. Even within Seoul, sales in areas where cafes and instant photo studios are concentrated surged dramatically.

The sales share of experience sectors such as karaoke rooms and instant photo studios was only 1% in 2019 but rose by 6 percentage points to 7% last year. The transportation sector, including luggage storage and express buses, increased from 1% in 2019 to 4% last year.

On the other hand, the sales share of the shopping sector, which had benefited from group tourism, dropped by 21 percentage points from 79% in 2019 to 58% last year.

After the COVID-19 endemic phase, the number of foreign tourists traveling freely within Korea has increased, leading to a rise in the sales proportion of experience and transportation sectors such as instant photos, luggage storage, and express buses, which are difficult for group tourists to consume.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Within Seoul, the preferred areas for foreign tourists also changed. The number of sales transactions in Seongsu-dong, known for its concentration of cafes and instant photo studios, soared by 973% compared to 2019. During the same period, Yeouido-dong and Hannam-dong followed with increases of 479% and 429%, respectively. Conversely, areas with major duty-free shops such as Sogong-dong (-90%), Jamsil 3-dong (-88%), and Jangchung-dong (-77%) were relatively neglected.

As the number of sales transactions in experience and transportation sectors increased, the most preferred time for foreign tourists to visit Korea was October. In 2019, when consumption was mainly shopping-oriented, sales were concentrated in the morning and afternoon hours, but recently, sales shares during the evening (6 PM to 10 PM) and late night (after 10 PM) hours have also increased.

Oh Seong-su, Executive Director at BC Card, stated, “We will actively support the use of travel trends derived from card consumption data to attract foreign tourists.” BC Card is supporting the government’s goal of attracting 20 million foreign tourists to Korea.

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