Tradition, Sports activities and Tourism Vice Minister Kim Dae-hyun, fourth from left, and Sharmaine Lee, the 18.5 millionth vacationer to Korea this 12 months, fifth from left, pose throughout a ceremony marking Korea’s milestone of welcoming a document variety of inbound guests at Incheon Worldwide Airport Terminal 2, Tuesday. Yonhap
Korea is on observe to welcome a document 18.7 million guests by the tip of 2025, surpassing the earlier excessive of 17.5 million set in 2019, the Ministry of Tradition, Sports activities and Tourism introduced Tuesday.
The surge comes because the nation continues to get better from the pandemic-era dip in journey, with worldwide vacationers returning in massive numbers and a rising curiosity in Korea’s cultural points of interest and procuring districts driving the historic rebound.
This 12 months’s sturdy inbound momentum got here from sturdy development throughout main markets. Guests from China rebounded sharply, whereas arrivals from Taiwan grew 27 p.c in comparison with final 12 months. Japanese vacationers surged to three.61 million, the best in 13 years. Center East and Asian markets expanded by 11.8 p.c, and guests from Europe and Oceania elevated by 14 p.c.
The achievement marks a full rebound of the nation’s tourism sector after years of pandemic-induced decline, pushed by the worldwide attraction of Okay-culture and diversified advertising efforts concentrating on key worldwide markets. The document quantity interprets to roughly one customer arriving each 1.68 seconds.
To commemorate the milestone, the ministry held a ceremony at Incheon Worldwide Airport to welcome the 18.5 millionth international traveler, Singaporean Sharmaine Lee. Vice Minister Kim Dae-hyun offered Lee with a standard Korean scarf and a bouquet of flowers whereas extending a private welcome.
Regardless of the historic achievement, officers mentioned the nation’s tourism business nonetheless has room to develop, notably in encouraging regional and repeat visits.
“Statistically, that is our greatest 12 months ever, however we nonetheless have an extended solution to go,” Kim mentioned. “The speed of repeat guests and journey to regional stays comparatively low. Our insurance policies will give attention to steering worldwide vacationers past main cities to assist forestall regional decline.”
Search engine optimization Younger-chung, appearing head of the Korea Tourism Group, echoed the sentiment. “Revitalizing native tourism is our unfinished activity,” he mentioned. “We’ll actively uncover and promote regional content material in order that extra world guests can expertise the distinctive allure and variety throughout the nation.”
Later within the afternoon, the ministry hosted the 52nd Tourism Day ceremony in Seoul beneath the theme of “Okay-Tourism, Embracing the World,” recognizing business leaders who contributed to reaching the record-breaking efficiency.
“With Korea’s cultural presence persevering with to develop worldwide, we intention to achieve 30 million annual guests earlier than 2030 and solidify our standing as a number one tourism nation,” Prime Minister Kim Min-seok mentioned in a congratulatory video message.
