The Geumgwang Lake area is emerging as a leading tourist destination representing Anseong, driven by the development of a sky observatory.
According to Anseong City on Tuesday, an analysis of big data from BC Card and KT, comparing periods before and after the sky observatory was built at Geumgwang Lake in August 2024, confirmed through objective figures the effects of tourism development, with indicators for visitor inflow, spending, and business startups all showing upward trends.
The telecommunications data analysis showed that the annual number of visitors to major tourist resources at Geumgwang Lake, including the Park Du-jin Literary Road and the Suseokjeong waterside garden, surpassed 450,000.
The spending effects accompanying the increase in tourists were also confirmed. Card sales across 26 tourism-related consumer business categories within a 2-kilometer radius of Geumgwang Lake rose from 19.9 billion won annually before the sky observatory opened to 25.3 billion won after its opening.
In terms of startup indicators, which reflect the health of the local commercial district, new business startups within a 2-kilometer radius reached 157, while closures totaled only 3, resulting in a net increase of 154.
An analysis of visitor characteristics showed that inflows came in the order of Pyeongtaek, Yongin, Cheonan, Seoul, and Hwaseong. Visitors in their 50s and 60s accounted for the largest share at 55.3 percent of the total, followed by family visitors in their 30s and 40s at 24.1 percent.
Based on these analysis results, Anseong City plans to develop various programs reflecting visitor characteristics and spending patterns and to continuously expand stay-oriented tourism infrastructure.
"Geumgwang Lake is becoming a valuable resource that raises Anseong's brand and drives the local economy," an Anseong City official said. "Going forward, we will pursue various policies that allow travel, healing, culture, and citizens' benefits to grow together based on our pristine natural environment."
