Foreign tourist arrivals in Seoul are showing clear growth beyond mere recovery, with tourism spending also expanding sharply.
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government on Wednesday, 1.56 million foreign tourists visited Seoul in April, up 18.8% from 1.30 million during the same period a year earlier. Cumulative visitors through April this year totaled 5.2 million, a 21.4% increase from the same period last year.
Spending has grown alongside the rise in tourists. Foreign card spending reached 1.1532 trillion won in April, up 50.5% from a year earlier. Seoul accounted for 72.3% of nationwide spending.
Spending patterns are also shifting. Compared with the same period last year, spending at large shopping malls rose 62.5%, medical tourism increased 59.2%, and the beauty sector grew 35%. By district, spending diversified beyond traditional commercial areas centered on Gangnam and Jung-gu to include Hongdae and Seongsu.
By nationality, visitors from China, Japan and Taiwan ranked highest in that order. Taiwan stood out with a 34.4% year-on-year increase. In terms of travel behavior, short-haul visitors from Japan and other nearby countries showed shorter stays and higher repeat-visit rates, while long-haul tourists from Europe and other distant regions tended to stay longer.
The growth trend continued during the Golden Week holiday from April 29 to May 6. Approximately 220,000 tourists visited Korea during the period, up 40.7% from a year earlier, while spending rose 37.9%.
"We will continue to enhance Seoul's unique high-value tourism content, including K-culture, gastronomy, and medical and beauty services, along with convenient tourism services, to bring forward the era of 30 million foreign tourists," said Kim Myung-joo, director general of Seoul's Tourism and Sports Bureau.
