"8.7-Day Stay, 3.53 Million Won in Spending"... BTS Gwanghwamun and Goyang Concerts Draw Attention for Tourism Impact

[Financial News] During Bangtan Boys (BTS)'s world tour in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, the number of foreign visitors rose as much as 35-fold, while card spending jumped 38-fold. They also stayed an average of 8.7 days and spent about 3.53 million won.

On the 29th, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST), together with the Korea Culture & Tourism Institute and the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), released an analysis of the tourism and spending effects generated by major Hallyu concerts. The study found that BTS concerts in Gwanghwamun and Goyang helped drive inbound visits, longer stays, and higher spending.
According to an on-site survey conducted by the Korea Culture & Tourism Institute among concertgoers at the Gwanghwamun show on March 21 and the Goyang Stadium performances on April 9 and 11-12, foreign attendees at the Gwanghwamun concert stayed an average of 8.7 days and spent about 3.53 million won. Both figures were higher than those of typical visitors to Korea.
Visitors to the Goyang concerts also made side trips before and after the shows to places linked to the BTS The City: Arirang Seoul program, including Yongsan District, Myeong-dong, Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP), and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA). They stayed an average of 7.4 days and spent 2.91 million won.
In addition, when the Korea Tourism Organization compared telecom and card data from Daehwa-dong, Ilsanseo-gu, Goyang-si, near the concert venue, with the same period last year, it found that foreign visitor numbers increased 35-fold and spending rose 38-fold over the three concert days.

The government had previously announced plans to give regional tourism a major boost through K-culture. As a follow-up measure, it will hold a welcome week from June 1 to 15 in connection with BTS's Busan Metropolitan City concerts on June 12-13 to encourage more regional travel tied to K-culture. It also plans to support K-pop concert hosting, curated exhibitions, and tourism routes linked to drama and music video filming locations.
Kang Jeong-won, Director-General for Tourism Policy at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said, "We plan to analyze inbound tourism trends and effects based on data and use them in policy." He added, "We will not treat concerts as standalone tourism products. Instead, we will link K-culture with regional tourism content so that visits to the capital area can lead to longer-stay tourism in the regions."

jashin@fnnews.com Shin Jin-ah Reporter