Gangwon Province Surpasses 35 Million Winter Tourists, Reaffirming Status as Korea's Leading Winter Tourism Destination

Tangible Results from the 2025–2026 Visit Gangwon Year

Winter Tourists Up 5.7% Year-on-Year

"Benefit GO! Gangwon Trip" and "Gangwon Snow Festa" Highlight Aggressive Marketing

Strengthening Gangwon’s Status as Korea’s Tourism Capital

Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province announced that, building on the successful outcomes of the "2025 Visit Gangwon Year," the number of winter tourists in 2025–2026 surpassed 35 million, once again reaffirming its status as Korea's leading winter tourism destination.

Kim Kwangrae, Deputy Governor for Economic Affairs of Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province, is holding a press conference on the 27th. Provided by Gangwon Province.

According to data analysis by the Korea Tourism Organization Data Lab, approximately 35 million tourists visited Gangwon Province during the winter season (December 2025 to February 2026), representing an increase of 1.88 million (5.7%) compared to 33.12 million in the previous year.

The province analyzed that multiple factors contributed to this rise in winter tourism, including aggressive tourism marketing linked to the "2025 Visit Gangwon Year," strengthening the competitiveness of winter festivals, and expanding efforts to attract international tourists.

Although the Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival saw a slight decrease in visitors (down by 270,000) due to the cold wave, most other winter festivals concluded successfully.

In particular, major winter festivals such as the Hongcheongang Ice Festival (up by 40,000 visitors), the Pyeongchang Trout Festival (up by 23,000), the Daegwallyeong Snow Festival (up by 23,000), and the Cheorwon Hantangang Ice Trekking Festival (up by 10,000) attracted more tourists than the previous year, playing a vital role as core content for Gangwon’s winter tourism.

The Pyeongchang Trout Festival and Cheorwon Hantangang Ice Trekking Festival were ultimately selected as "2026–2027 Culture and Tourism Festivals" by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, further solidifying their status as Korea’s leading winter festivals.

The results in attracting overseas tourists were also remarkable. The winter tourism programs, centered around the "Gangwon Snow Festa," attracted a total of 66,473 visitors during the 2025–2026 season, an increase of 17,412 (35.5%) from the previous year, surpassing the initial goal of 52,000 by 27.8%.

Specifically, long-popular winter tourism products such as the Chuncheon Nami Island package attracted 27,136 visitors, collaborative packages with eight ski resorts in the province including Elysian Gangchon in Chuncheon drew 20,797 visitors, and the global OTA Trip.com package brought in 13,249 visitors, driving overall growth.

This achievement is even more meaningful given the challenging conditions, including rising average winter temperatures, record-breaking cold in the Yeongseo region, an increase in overseas travel, and the diversification of leisure activities.

The province is now actively implementing the second year of the "2025–2026 Visit Gangwon Year" initiative to sustain this upward trend.

Since February 23, the "Benefit GO! Gangwon Trip" event has been underway for tourists visiting Gangwon Province. Visitors who verify accommodation spending of 60,000 won or more receive a 30,000 won mobile Gangwon voucher, and those who verify restaurant and other receipts of 50,000 won or more receive a 10,000 won voucher, thereby reducing the financial burden for tourists and encouraging repeat visits and longer stays.

As of April 21, a total of 17,600 people (8,500 for accommodation verification and 9,100 for spending verification) have participated, receiving a positive response.

In addition, from April 8 to April 30, the "Korea Accommodation Festa" is being held in collaboration with the Korea Tourism Organization. This event, the largest of its kind in the country, offers more than 33,000 accommodation discount coupons, providing discounts of up to 70,000 won depending on the length and cost of stay. This is expected to increase the average length of stay and tourism spending among spring visitors to Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province.

For international tourists, Gangwon Province is expanding the operation of foreigner tourism taxis and the G-Shuttle to match the trend of free independent travel (FIT), enhancing access to local attractions and festival venues.

Moving forward, the province plans to further boost off-season tourism demand and revitalize the local economy through a variety of events, including operating pop-up stores in the Seoul metropolitan area, consumption verification campaigns in partnership with credit card companies, stamp tours, and global OTA collaborative promotions.

Kim Kwangrae, Deputy Governor for Economic Affairs of Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province, stated, "The steady influx of winter tourists this year has greatly contributed to revitalizing the local economy, and this is the result of joint efforts by our residents and municipal governments. We will further strengthen the foundation for year-round, stay-based tourism that is not concentrated in specific regions or seasons, so that tourists visiting Gangwon at any time can enjoy exceptional experiences, by further enhancing the quality of tourism services and policy support."

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