31 Million Tourists in Chungnam... "Increased Compared to Pre-Pandemic"

Last Year's Major Tourist Attractions Visitor Statistics... 17% Increase in One Year

Last year, the number of tourists visiting Chungnam exceeded 31 million annually. This indicates that the regional tourism demand, which had slowed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has not only recovered but is now on the rise beyond previous levels.

According to data from Chungnam Province and the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute (statistics on visitors to major tourist sites) on the 4th, the number of tourists in the Chungnam area last year was approximately 31,009,000, an increase of about 4.53 million (17%) compared to approximately 26,475,000 in 2022.

Considering that the number of regional tourists was about 29,809,000 in 2019 before the spread of COVID-19, it can be concluded that tourism demand, which had decreased due to the pandemic, has recovered and even increased by about 4% (approximately 1.2 million).

There are a total of 221 major tourist sites in Chungnam. By region, Buyeo has the most with 31 sites, followed by Gongju with 25, Asan with 23, Seosan with 20, Yesan with 18, Cheongyang and Taean each with 16, Hongseong with 14, Boryeong with 12, Cheonan with 11, Seocheon with 10, Nonsan with 9, Dangjin and Geumsan each with 7, and Gyeryong with 2.

The top 10 tourist sites with the highest number of visitors last year include Baekje Cultural Complex (1,652,088 visitors), Independence Hall of Korea (1,601,941 visitors), Ganwolam Hermitage (967,269 visitors), Haemieupseong Fortress (877,646 visitors), and Hyeonchungsa Shrine (802,389 visitors). Most of these sites saw a significant increase in visitors due to the effects of the Great Baekje Festival.

Following these are Gyeryongsan National Park (Donghaksa Temple, 710,451 visitors), Daedunsan Mountain (668,086 visitors), Yedangho Suspension Bridge (653,707 visitors), National Buyeo Museum (639,548 visitors), and National Gongju Museum (592,034 visitors), which also made the list of major tourist sites.

There were 41 sites where the number of tourists increased by more than 50% compared to the previous year, including Solmoratgil Trail, Bird Ecology Exhibition Hall, Sunset Trail, Baekje Cultural Complex, and Dangjin World Art Circus Performance Hall. Conversely, five sites saw a decrease of more than 50%, including Modeoksa Temple, Goma Art Center, World Flower Botanical Garden, Solhyanggi Trail, and Sagye Traditional House.

The regions with the most notable increases in tourists compared to the same period last year were Buyeo (2,306,067 visitors, 103%), Nonsan (399,824 visitors, 28%), Hongseong (89,079 visitors, 28%), Cheonan (512,173 visitors, 18%), and Seocheon (199,649 visitors, 16%).

Chungnam Province plans to analyze last year’s tourist inflow data to discover new tourist sites and expand the registration of major tourist sites, aiming to increase the number of regional tourists to the 50 million range by 2026.

Song Mugyeong, Director of Culture, Sports and Tourism at Chungnam Province, said, “This year is the pre-operational period for the ‘2025-2026 Chungnam Visit Year.’ Chungnam Province will strive to develop various tourism courses and conduct large-scale promotional activities so that the number of tourists visiting the region in 2026 can exceed 50 million.”

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