Foreign Visitors Flock to K-Hiking and Medical Tourism as Calls Grow for Tailored Tourism Policies

Although optimistic forecasts suggest that the number of foreign tourists visiting Korea will surpass 20 million this year, critics say analysis of tourism’s impact on the economy and its spillover effects remains insufficient. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism spending patterns have changed sharply, and local governments have yet to properly assess their economic contributions.
According to a report released on the 26th by The Seoul Institute, titled 'The Economic Scale and Spillover Effects of the Tourism Industry,' Seoul’s tourism industry generated 45.6 trillion won in sales and 18.8 trillion won in value added in 2024. That accounted for 3.3% of Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) of 575 trillion won, far above the national average tourism GDP contribution of 2.0%.
The number of foreign visitors to Seoul continues to rise each year. Oh Se-hoon, Seoul Metropolitan City Mayor, who has named 'revitalizing the night economy' as one of the key strategies of his ninth term, said that 'the era of 20 million tourists will open this year' and emphasized that 'culture and tourism create three to five times more jobs than manufacturing, so the high-quality jobs generated will go to our young people.'
The Seoul Institute projected that if foreign arrivals in Korea exceed 20 million this year, tourism spending in Seoul will expand to 31.1 trillion won, while the overall tourism industry will reach 51.3 trillion won. It also estimated that the industry’s contribution to Seoul Metropolitan Government’s GRDP will rise to 3.5%.
Seoul’s tourism sector is especially dependent on foreign visitors compared with the national average. Of the city’s total tourism sales in 2024, foreign spending accounted for 25.5 trillion won, or 56% of the total. That is well above the national average foreign spending share of 42%. In effect, an increase in foreign tourists directly translates into growth in Seoul’s tourism industry.
A comparison of sales by tourism subsector in Seoul between 2022 and 2024 shows that 'shopping' businesses, including duty-free shops and souvenir stores, fell 1% and remained stagnant. By contrast, 'travel services,' which provide customized travel experiences, surged 325%. Sales in the 'lodging' sector also rose 149%, driven by longer stays and a shift toward premium services.
The institute explained that this reflects a shift away from simple sightseeing and shopping toward high-value tourism centered on direct experiences of K-lifestyle. Medical tourism, which has emerged from K-beauty, is gaining traction, and along with the popularity of K-pop, more foreign visitors are seeking out filming locations from movies and music videos as well as concert venues. For example, the number of foreign tourists visiting Bukhansan National Park reaches about 50,000 a year.
Experts stressed that to achieve Seoul Metropolitan Government’s '3-3-7-7 tourism era' target of 30 million foreign visitors, 3 million won in per-capita spending, a seven-day stay, and a 70% revisit rate, the city must move away from uniform attraction strategies and urgently redesign policies to match emerging demand.
They also said Seoul should build systems that link with MOHW and credit card company big data to identify new spending categories such as medical, beauty, and pharmacy-related consumption, which are not captured in traditional tourism statistics. At the same time, tailored infrastructure, including expanded Seoul hiking tourism centers, should be developed.
The Seoul Institute emphasized that 'Seoul’s tourism industry is a city-based service export sector with very high economic sensitivity to foreign visitor inflows.' It added that 'along with viral marketing through integration with cultural content, diversified support measures should be developed to meet growing tourism demand in areas such as medical care and wellness.'
[email protected] Lee Chang-hoon Reporter