Foreign Marine Tourism Spending by Foreigners Surges 42% in One Year... Busan and Jeju Emerge as Two Main Hubs

KMI Analyzes Last Year’s Credit Card Big Data
Sharp Increase in Spending by Japanese, Taiwanese, and Mongolian Tourists

The Korea Maritime Institute (KMI, President Cho Jeonghee) announced on September 15 that, based on an analysis of foreign marine tourism consumption trends in coastal areas using 2024 credit card sales big data, total foreign tourist spending increased by 27.3%, while spending in coastal areas surged by 42.3% compared to the previous year.

According to the research team led by Dr. Choi Ilsun from the Marine Tourism and Culture Research Division, total foreign tourist spending last year amounted to 8.7592 trillion won. Of this, spending in coastal areas reached 1.0258 trillion won, accounting for 11.7% of the total and showing a significant increase from the previous year’s 720.7 billion won.

This growth is similar to the 48.4% increase in the number of foreign visitors, indicating that the expanded demand for tourism has translated into actual spending.

The average spending per transaction by foreigners was 88,739 won, approximately 3.9 times higher than that of domestic tourists (22,719 won). In terms of spending categories, accommodation accounted for 51.5%, highlighting a clear difference from domestic tourists, who mainly focus on food and shopping.

Seasonally, foreign tourist spending was concentrated in summer (30.0%) and autumn (30.5%), while winter accounted for only 17.1%, revealing a strong peak season bias. As a result, the need to develop supplementary tourism products for the winter season has been raised.

By nationality, the largest shares of spending came from Singapore (19.0%), the United States (16.3%), and Taiwan (14.3%). Spending by Japanese tourists increased by 229.3% and by Taiwanese tourists by 106.3% compared to the previous year. Mongolia showed explosive growth of 812.7%, emerging as a new consumer group.

By region, foreign tourist spending was concentrated in Seoul (65.3%). However, focusing solely on coastal areas, Busan (42.1%) and Jeju (24.7%) established themselves as the two main hubs. Incheon showed the fastest growth, increasing from 78.1 billion won to 187.1 billion won, a rise of 139.6%. In contrast, regions such as Gangwon, Chungnam, and Jeonbuk had lower spending volumes, highlighting clear regional disparities.

The consumption structure also changed. Incheon’s coastal area saw the share of accommodation rise to 83.1%, establishing itself as an "accommodation hub." In Busan, the share of accommodation decreased while retail and distribution increased, reinforcing its role as a shopping hub. On Jeju Island, Seogwipo emerged as an accommodation-focused area, while Jeju City became more shopping-oriented.

President Cho Jeonghee stated, "This analysis is significant in that it systematically quantifies marine tourism consumption by foreigners. We will develop customized strategies reflecting the characteristics of each country and season, and promote the spread of long-stay content linked to K-Culture to develop coastal areas into global marine tourism hubs."

Scale of the Marine Tourism Market for Foreigners in Coastal Areas.

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