Foreign tourist boom fails to lift Korea's tourism balance
Tourists wearing hanbok take photos at Gyeongbok Palace in Jongno District, Seoul, Friday. Yonhap
Sluggish tourism receipts, rising outbound spending deepen deficit
Korea's tourism balance has remained in deficit for three consecutive months, even as the country prepares to welcome a record number of foreign visitors this year, with arrivals expected to surpass 20 million for the first time, government data showed Monday.
Experts say Korea needs to move beyond one-off tourism packages centered on K-pop content and develop a wider range of attractions that encourage visitors to spend more.
According to data from the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), the country's tourism deficit — the gap between spending by foreign visitors in Korea and spending by Koreans abroad — widened to $498 million in September, from $399.4 million a month earlier.
The country slipped back into deficit in July, ending a four-month run of surpluses.
Korea had run a tourism deficit for 72 consecutive months, from March 2020 through February this year, before returning to surplus in March. The surplus continued through June, peaking at $596.6 million that month, marking the largest figure since October 2008.
The four-month surplus coincided with a series of BTS concerts in Seoul and Busan in March and June, which drew overseas fans to Korea. The performances appear to have provided a temporary boost to tourism spending.
The return to deficit shows that attracting more foreign visitors does not necessarily translate into higher tourism spending.
According to preliminary figures from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, 18.91 million foreign tourists had visited Korea as of Oct. 26, putting the country on track to surpass 20 million arrivals for the first time this year.
Experts say that the growing popularity of K-pop, Korean dramas and beauty products has helped draw more foreign visitors, but the country still needs a wider range of tourism experiences to encourage them to spend more and return.
"Visitor numbers are certainly important, but qualitative growth is also crucial. Korea needs a comprehensive strategy to increase how long tourists stay, how much they spend and how satisfied they are with their visits," said Lee Hoon, a professor of tourism at Hanyang University.
But he cautioned against judging the industry's performance solely by the tourism balance, given the unprecedented number of foreign visitors coming to Korea.
"With foreign visitor numbers reaching levels never seen before in Korea's history, it is difficult to assess the industry simply by looking at whether the tourism balance is in deficit. We need to pay attention to the added value generated by tourism as an industry," he said.
The professor said rising spending by Koreans traveling abroad has also added to the pressure on the tourism balance.
According to KTO data, outbound tourism spending rose 2.5 percent month-on-month to $2.96 billion in September, from $2.89 billion in August. The increase came as average spending per outbound traveler climbed 9.9 percent to $1,304 from $1,187.