 |
| A foreign tourist poses at a photo zone celebrating the 10th anniversary of BTS in Seoul, Wednesday. The 2023 BTS Festa runs for two weeks from June 12. Yonhap |
By Lee Min-hyung
The 10th anniversary of BTS is expected to have a massive economic effect here, as more foreign tourists visit Seoul and expand spending during the two-week-long 2023 BTS Festa.
According to data from online travel agency Trip.com, the number of foreign tourists will rise by 13 percent between June 12 and 25, from a month earlier. This is an increase of 4.5 percent from two weeks ago.
They are expected to help boost sales, particularly in the domestic tourism and retail sectors. HYBE, the music label behind the seven-member boyband, has signed an official partnership with a group of 13 companies operating businesses in sectors such as hotels, department stores, aviation, cosmetics and fashion.
The Hyundai Seoul, one of the capital's largest department stores, has enjoyed huge sales growth after holding a 10-year anniversary event for BTS. Its sales from foreign tourists soared by 210.3 percent between June 12 and 13, from a week earlier.
BTS is estimated to have generated economic effects worth 41.86 trillion won ($32.6 billion) over the past decade, according to data from Hyundai Research Institute. Given the growing popularity of the K-pop idol group, the figure is forecast to rise further. BTS is also attracting around 800,000 foreign tourists to Korea each year.
Considering the marketing impact, the idol group is also estimated to stimulate 5 trillion won in spending each year, helping promote exports of Korean products.
The end of social distancing rules after COVID-19 pandemic is expected to further boost foreigners' spending here.
Other data also showed growing interest in Seoul during the event period. According to HotelsCombined, the number of hotel searches in Korea increased 96 percent during the two weeks from a year ago. The figure for Seoul soared by 106 percent during the same period. The number of flight ticket searches to Korea also rose by 15 percent.
Convenience store chains are also busy catching the opportunity for sales growth by launching diverse products celebrating the BTS anniversary. GS25 is selling mineral water and hamburgers with special labels featuring the BTS 10th Anniversary FESTA until June 30.
The Shilla Duty Free Shop is operating a special zone called SPACE OF BTS in Seoul. More than 300 BTS-related products ― such as clothes, dolls and stationery ― are sold. Sales for the BTS store achieved threefold monthly growth this year on average from a year ago.
The government is no exception, with the Korea Post selling special stamps celebrating BTS' 10-year anniversary. According to the postal agency, a total of 1.5 million BTS special stamps have been sold at its offices across the nation.
![[INTERVIEW] Hip-hop group Uptown returns after 13 years with new lineup](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/0eae35da5e9c40c38cf439e550a2eb3e.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
![[INTERVIEW] ASTRO members aim to shine in musical theater](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/df16760dc50f469d93434f66a069465c.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
