Opening the Era of 20 Million Foreign Tourists

Government Launches Inbound Marketing Initiatives
Vice Minister Jang Miran to Attend Spain International Tourism Fair Today
Korea Tourism Organization to Hold 'K-Tourism Roadshow' This Year
New Promotion Offices to Open in 12 Cities

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and related government agencies such as the Korea Tourism Organization are launching aggressive inbound marketing efforts to attract foreign tourists. This year, the government has set a target of attracting 18.5 million foreign tourists and ultimately aims to usher in an era of 20 million visitors.

The goal of 20 million foreign tourists was originally set to be achieved last year but was not realized due to unforeseen variables. According to the Korea Tourism Organization on the 22nd, the number of foreign tourists reached only 15.1 million by November last year, and with the political turmoil caused by the emergency martial law situation in early December, the final number of tourists is expected to remain in the 16 million range.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019, foreign tourists reached a record high of 17.5 million, but the pandemic caused the number to plummet to below 1 million in 2021. Although there had been signs of recovery since then, recent political instability has again negatively impacted the tourism industry.

According to a survey by the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute, the tourism industry accounts for about 5% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and generates an economic ripple effect of over 90 trillion won annually. As of 2023, the average expenditure per foreign tourist is approximately $1,513 (about 2.17 million won), meaning a decrease of 1 million tourists results in a revenue loss of over 2 trillion won. In particular, small tourist cities that heavily depend on the local economy face a high risk of livelihood instability due to the decline in tourists.

Minister Yoo In-chon of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has expressed strong determination to attract 20 million foreign tourists. Additionally, Vice Minister Jang Mi-ran plans to actively seek to attract tourists from Europe and Latin America by participating in the ‘2025 Spain International Tourism Fair (FITUR)’ held in Madrid, Spain, from the 22nd (local time) to the 26th. Europe and Latin America are still small markets for visits to Korea but are considered to have high growth potential. For example, the number of visitors from Spain to Korea increased by 153% compared to 2019, and Mexico saw a 187.9% increase following the resumption of direct flights.

The Korea Tourism Organization plans to hold ‘K-Tourism Roadshows’ in 20 major overseas cities including New York, Beijing, and Tokyo this year, and will establish ‘promotion offices’ in 12 cities with high growth potential to pioneer new markets. Projects linked to K-pop will also expand from existing concert-centered events to various K-sports specialized products such as e-sports and Taekwondo.

The government intends to execute about 70% of the tourism sector budget early in the first half of the year. Kim Jeong-hoon, Director of Tourism Policy at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, emphasized the need for proactive measures, stating, "Due to the time-lag effect of political instability, there is a possibility that the tourism industry will suffer damage in the spring."

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will advance the ‘Travel Month’ campaign to March to stimulate tourism demand throughout the first half of the year. This will provide benefits to 1.5 million people and expand the operation of digital tourist resident cards to 45 regions. Furthermore, efforts will be made to revitalize regional stay-type tourism through workation programs, night tourism programs, and the distribution of 1 million regional accommodation discount coupons.

Professor Seo Won-seok of Kyung Hee University’s College of Hotel and Tourism said, "The number of foreign tourists is approaching the record high of 2019. Despite the difficulties caused by COVID-19, we can now say we have entered a full recovery phase." However, he added, "It remains to be seen whether the political instability that occurred in December last year will have a long-term impact on the tourism industry." He further emphasized, "The tourism industry should now focus on qualitative growth rather than quantitative growth. It is more important how long tourists stay and how much they spend than simply increasing the number of tourists." He also noted, "The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit to be held in Gyeongju in October this year is a golden opportunity. If the diverse cultural tourism resources of Gyeongju and Gyeongbuk are promoted to the world through the APEC Summit, it will greatly help revitalize regional tourism."

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