"It's difficult to book directly through hospital websites, but here I could easily find various options." (Jarrett Capo, Canadian tourist)
Last year, 18.94 million foreigners visited South Korea. This year, inbound tourists are projected to reach 20 million to 22 million, a record high.
As foreign visitors surge, mobile services targeting international tourists are proliferating. These platforms primarily handle reservations and payments for transportation, accommodation, and restaurants. Among them, Creatrip is positioning itself as a leading wellness tourism platform by offering differentiated services centered on wellness.
IV Drip and Health Checkup Transactions Surge
Creatrip is focusing on expanding medical services this year, anticipating strong demand for wellness tourism among foreign visitors.
"Foreigners have high trust in Korea's advanced medical technology and premium services," said Lim Hye-min, CEO of Creatrip. "This year, K-healthcare products such as traditional Korean medicine treatments and specialized health checkup packages will become a primary purpose for visiting Korea."
Creatrip is a startup providing travel information and real-time booking services for foreign tourists visiting Korea. Launched in 2016, the platform connects foreigners with various experiences including makeup and K-pop. As of December last year, its monthly active users reached 1.6 million.
The medical sector showed notable growth last year. Transaction volume in beauty and medical services on Creatrip increased 71% year-over-year. IV drip and health checkup transactions surged 281% in the second half compared to the first half of last year. Traditional Korean medicine clinic transactions jumped 89-fold during the same period.
Reviews from foreign tourists using these services have been positive. A user identifying as Japanese wrote: "I was tired so I visited a clinic for an IV drip, and my body recovered efficiently. I plan to visit again."
Taiwanese Tourists Prefer Korean Medical Tourism
Creatrip plans to expand partnerships with hospitals and traditional Korean medicine clinics offering health checkups and IV drips, while actively promoting medical services to foreign customers.
Currently, Creatrip operates six medical service categories including dentistry, ophthalmology, dermatology, and traditional Korean medicine.
By nationality, trust in Korean healthcare is particularly high in Asian markets such as Taiwan, where demand for wellness products is expected to grow further. About half of Taiwanese users' transaction volume on Creatrip last year came from medical tourism. Taiwanese users showed strong preference for ophthalmology and vision correction services. Users from the United States and Singapore spent approximately 25% of their country-specific transaction volume on medical tourism.
"We believe wellness tourism will become a core growth driver for Korea's inbound tourism market," Lim said. "We aim to establish ourselves as the leading K-wellness platform connecting Korea's high-quality medical services with lifestyle experiences."