Foreign Incentive Travelers Emerge as Big Spenders in Korea... Spend 1.8 Times More Than General Tourists

70% of Incentive Travelers Visit Korea for the First Time Through These Trips
Average Spending per Incentive Traveler Reaches $1,790... 1.8 Times Higher Than General Tourists
Need to Establish a Dedicated Incentive Travel Operating System in the Future

It has been found that 'incentive travel' for foreign tourists is contributing to the spread of interest in and experience of travel to Korea. Incentive travel refers to a reward provided by companies or organizations to employees who have improved work performance or achieved certain goals. Since incentive travel is more profitable than general travel, there are calls to expand infrastructure such as air travel and accommodation to regional areas and to strengthen local sales through cooperation with overseas partners in order to attract more incentive travelers.

According to the '2024 Incentive Travel Participant Behavior Analysis for Visits to Korea,' conducted by the Korea Tourism Organization on 1,500 incentive travelers, the average spending per visitor who came to Korea on an incentive trip last year was $1,789.5 (about 2.44 million won), an increase of 8.2% ($135.3) compared to the previous year ($1,654.1). This amount significantly exceeds the average tourism income per foreign tourist, which is $1,005.2 (about 1.37 million won). This means that incentive travel is more profitable than general travel.

The travel industry generally considers that the price of incentive package products is higher overall than that of general packages. While general packages offer consumers various options, allowing for cost control, incentive travel, being a reward, is mostly sold as full-option packages. The unit prices for accommodation, sightseeing, and food included in these packages are also set at higher levels.

Additionally, as local governments compete to attract more foreign tourists, they are expanding related incentives, which can help increase profitability for the travel industry. For example, if a travel itinerary includes tourist attractions in a specific region, the local government or tourism foundation may provide financial support or compensation to the travel agency.

From the perspective of the domestic tourism industry, incentive travelers are considered high-value tourists who tend to spend more compared to general travelers. This is because a significant portion of their travel expenses, such as airfare and accommodation, is covered by their company, allowing them to have more discretionary spending for personal activities like shopping.

The travel industry sees strong potential for Korea to grow as an incentive travel destination. Korea has many visa waiver agreements, and, most importantly, the global popularity of Korean Wave content such as K-pop and K-dramas has increased the overall favorability of the country. In addition, Korea's well-developed infrastructure, safe public order, and high-quality accommodation, transportation, and medical services are cited as reasons for the growing interest among overseas companies and organizations considering Korea as an incentive travel destination.

An industry official explained, "Large network marketing companies such as Amway and Nu Skin typically organize large-scale incentive tours. Although Southeast Asia and Europe are still the most preferred destinations, recently, the appeal of K-culture content has increased interest in Korea, and large incentive groups are showing interest in and actually visiting Korea."

As the monsoon rain subsides and hot, humid weather continues on the 23rd, foreign tourists visiting Myeongdong in Jung-gu, Seoul, are seen holding refreshing drinks. Photo by Jin Hyung Kang aymsdream@

However, there are also clear weaknesses. Accessibility to high-end accommodation and air infrastructure is extremely important for incentive tourism, but most of Korea's key facilities are concentrated in Seoul and the metropolitan area, which is considered a limitation. In particular, since international flights at regional airports are limited except for Gimhae Airport and Jeju Airport, low accessibility to regional destinations is cited as one of the top issues that need to be addressed.

Additionally, in terms of cost of stay, Korea is less competitive compared to Southeast Asia and other regions. Except for K-culture, Korea also lags behind competing countries in global promotion and branding as a MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, Exhibitions) destination.

To expand the attraction of highly profitable incentive travelers, the domestic travel industry needs to strengthen cooperation with local overseas partners and establish dedicated operating systems for incentive travel, as well as actively develop sales strategies to attract overseas corporate and group clients. In fact, according to the Korea Tourism Organization, 80.4% of decisions to choose Korea as an incentive travel destination were made by companies, while only 19.6% were based on participant surveys, indicating that the destination is mostly decided by the company paying the costs. This highlights that expanding overseas sales capabilities is essential to increasing demand for incentive travel.

An industry official said, "Most domestic travel agencies are structured and systematized with a focus on outbound (Koreans traveling abroad), so they lack capacity for inbound business. To expand incentive travelers, it is essential to reorganize with large-scale dedicated teams and, based on this, develop customized products and sales strategies."