Foreign spending in Gyeongju triples during APEC summit week

Foreign tourists take a picture in front of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit welcome sign at Gyeongju Station in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, Oct. 26. Yonhap

By Lee Kyung-min

• Published Nov 18, 2025 3:48 PM KST

Foreign visitor spending in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, grew more than threefold during the week of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, compared with the same period last year, data showed Tuesday.

The increase shows the high-profile diplomatic event led to greater economic activity in the southeastern part of the country, where the culturally rich city expected a boost in tourism demand from inbound travelers.

According to data by Hana Card, foreign credit and debit card spending in Gyeongju exceeded 3.2 billion won ($2.1 million) between Oct. 27 and Nov. 2.

That was up 210 percent from the same period a year earlier when the figure came to 1.04 billion won. The number of transactions stood at 41,322, more than doubling from 20,069 the previous year.

At the top of the shopping list were beauty products, bolstered by a strong demand for K-beauty, defined by an emphasis on healthy skin care.

Purchases totaled 102 million won, more than quadrupling last year’s 25 million won. Hotel and amenities spending surpassed 1.7 billion won, triple last year’s 537 million won.

Food and daily necessities spending also rose sharply. Restaurant spending jumped 114 percent, while convenience store purchases spiked 160 percent.

The weekly spending jump extended into the second week of this month. From Nov. 3 to 9, foreign card spending in the city came to over 1.33 billion won, up 48 percent from the same period the year before. Transaction numbers came to 27,939, up from the previous year’s 18,885.

The card subsidiary of Hana Financial Group said the spending growth momentum was sustained by global media coverage and an increase in the number of inbound travelers.

“Gyeongju will continue to experience a post-APEC tourism boost, meaningfully bolstering the region’s economy while elevating the city’s attractiveness as a global travel destination,” it said.