66.5 Million Tourists Visit Songpa District in First Half of Year... 1.34 Million Foreign Visitors Included

Foreign Visitors Account for 30.9% of Spending
Driving Growth in the Local Economy

The total number of tourists who visited Songpa District in the first half of this year reached 66,499,483, marking a 3.8% increase from the previous year. This is the highest figure since statistical tracking began in 2020.

Foreign tourists and visitors who came to the 'Hosubok Festival' this spring. Provided by Songpa District.

In particular, the proportion of foreign tourists significantly increased during the first half of the year. According to Songpa District’s analysis of data from Korea Tourism Data Lab on August 21, the number of foreign tourists in the first half reached 1,348,334, which is more than twice the population of Songpa District (approximately 640,000). This represents a 6.0% increase compared to the same period last year, with an average of 7,449 foreign visitors per day. During the Seokchon Lake Cherry Blossom Festival in April alone, foreign visitors numbered 290,000. Domestic tourist numbers peaked in May (Family Month) at 12,180,000.

The scale of tourism spending is also noteworthy. In the first half of the year, the total tourism expenditure in Songpa District amounted to 555.4 billion won, with foreign tourists accounting for 171.9 billion won, or 30.9% of the total. Domestic tourists spent 383.4 billion won.

Over the past three years, Songpa District has focused on expanding its cultural and tourism infrastructure and diversifying its programs. Notable examples include the opening of ‘The Gallery Hosu,’ the creation of large-scale media art installations such as ‘The Sphere’ and ‘Hosugyo Gallery,’ as well as the Hosubok Festival and the Pok?mon Art Balloon Exhibition. The district analyzed that these distinctive contents have driven the increase in both domestic and foreign tourist demand.

The impact of tourism on the local economy was also confirmed. As of 2023, one Songpa District resident spends an average of 9.85 million won annually. To replace this with tourist spending, 154 one-day tourists per resident would be required. Applied to the entire population, this means about 99.5 million tourists are needed annually. The district attracted 66.49 million tourists in just the first half of this year and expects at this pace to more than offset the scale of resident consumption by year-end.

Seo Kangseok, Mayor of Songpa District, stated, “These statistics show that the tourism industry has grown beyond simply attracting visitors and has become a key pillar supporting the local economy of Songpa District. In the second half of the year, we will continue to invest in cultural and tourism infrastructure, including the Hanseong Baekje Cultural Festival and the Luminarie Festival, to further develop Songpa into a global tourist destination visited by people from around the world.”

Meanwhile, these statistics are based on data from January to June of this year provided by the Korea Tourism Data Lab, a big data platform operated by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization.

Foreign tourists visiting 'The Sphere'. Provided by Songpa-gu.

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