Incheon Records Rise in Tourism Indicators Despite Nationwide Travel Decline Last Year

【Financial News Incheon=Han Gapsu Reporter】 Incheon City and Incheon Tourism Organization announced on the 18th that despite a nationwide decline in domestic travel demand, Incheon's major tourism indicators showed an upward trend overall, according to the recently released '2024 National Travel Survey' by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
Incheon showed an increase in all categories, including the number of trips, travel days, and travel expenditure, compared to the previous year.
According to the '2024 National Travel Survey' released at the end of June by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute, the total number of domestic trips by the entire nation last year was 291.82 million, a decrease of 1.74% compared to the previous year, and the number of travel days was 448.50 million days, a decrease of 3.63%. Travel expenditure also showed an overall decline, falling by 2.69% to 36.8 trillion won.
However, Incheon recorded 11.38 million trips, an increase of 0.53% compared to the previous year (11.32 million trips), and the number of travel days increased by 5.36% to 15.14 million days compared to the previous year (14.37 million days).
Additionally, travel expenditure surged by 12.59% to 948 billion won compared to the previous year (842 billion won), indicating that Incheon is driving tourism activation despite the economic downturn.
In particular, Incheon shows a marked increase in accommodation travel indicators. The number of accommodation trips in Incheon increased by 13.49% to 2.86 million trips compared to the previous year (2.52 million trips), and accommodation travel expenditure surged by 29.47% to 413 billion won compared to the previous year (319 billion won).
The average expenditure per trip to Incheon increased by 12% from 75,000 won to 84,000 won, and the average length of stay also increased from 1.27 days to 1.33 days.
Furthermore, the overall satisfaction with Incheon tourism scored 78.0 points, with accommodation tourism satisfaction rising from 77.8 points to 79.7 points (△2.44%), the intention to revisit increased from 73.4 points to 74.9 points (△2.04%), and the intention to recommend to others increased from 71.6 points to 74.1 points (△3.49%).
Satisfaction in all areas improved. Shopping (tourist souvenirs/specialties) increased by 7.14%, experience programs by 6.96%, tourist convenience facilities by 6.52%, and tourist prices by 6.6%.
The Incheon Tourism Organization analyzed that the various projects promoted to increase tourist stays in Incheon have resulted in visible outcomes.
In particular, last year, to spread unique experiential content in Incheon, 'Incheon 9 Attractions' were newly selected and promoted, attracting about 34,000 participants. Based on this, a national campaign will be launched this year to recruit Incheon 9 Attractions experience groups, plan online experience exhibitions, and present various experience programs.
To expand stay tourism, 'Living Like a Local' and 'Workation Special Products' that enjoy work and vacation simultaneously were discovered, and the '1883 Imagination Platform Night Market' and 'Night Market' were introduced to expand night-time stays and increase accommodation demand through seasonal online (OTA) accommodation exhibitions.
Additionally, the introduction of the 'i-Sea Pass' linked to Incheon's specialized resource, islands, increased accessibility and interest in the islands, contributing to an increase in tourist inflow and stays.
Baek Hyun, President of Incheon Tourism Organization, said, "The exceptional growth Incheon has shown despite the nationwide domestic travel decline is the result of continuously expanding stay-type and experiential tourism content."
kapsoo@fnnews.com Han Gapsu Reporter