Tourism in South Korea
South Korea recorded a total of 18 m tourists in 2019, ranking 30th in the world in absolute terms.Without including the size of a country, such a ranking list may not be very meaningful. By putting the tourist numbers in relation to the population of South Korea, the result is much more comparable picture: With 0.34 tourists per resident, South Korea ranked 117th in the world. In East Asia, it ranked 3rd.
South Korea generated around 26.22 bn US Dollar in the tourism sector alone. This corresponds to 1.6 percent of its the gross domestic product and approximately 18 percent of all international tourism receipts in East Asia.
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Back to overview: South Korea
The most popular cities in South Korea for international travelers are Seoul and Jeju. In 2018, Seoul ranked 24th among the world's most popular cities with 8.43 m tourists. Jeju was in 95th place with 2.35 m tourists.
On average, each of the tourists arriving in 2019 spent about 1,338 US Dollars. Conversely, the inhabitants of South Korea spend only around 1,084 dollars a year when they themselves spend vacations abroad.Development of the tourism sector in South Korea from 1995 to 2019
The following chart shows the number of tourist arrivals registered in South Korea each year. Anyone who spends at least one night in the country but does not live there for more than 12 months is considered a tourist. Insofar as the survey included the purpose of the trip, business trips and other non-tourism travel purposes have already been excluded. The number of people passing through within the same day, and e.g. crew members of ships or flights are also not considered as tourists in most countries. If the same person travels in and out more than once within the same year, each visit counts again.Data in the chart are given in millions of tourists. The red line represents the average of all 6 countries in East Asia.
Revenues in tourism
In 1995, tourism revenues amounted to 6.67 bn USD, or about 1.2 percent of the gross national product. This corresponded to about 3.75 m tourists at that time and roughly 1,777 USD per person. Within 24 years, the country's dependence on tourism has increased noticeably. In the last year of the survey, the revenue now amounts to 26.22 bn USD, accounting for 1.6 percent of the gross national product. Each visitor now spends an average of 1,498 USD for his holiday in South Korea.
All data for South Korea in detail
| Year | Number | Receipts | % of GNP | Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 17.50 m | 26.22 bn $ | 1.6 % | 1,498 $ |
| 2018 | 15.35 m | 23.10 bn $ | 1.3 % | 1,505 $ |
| 2017 | 13.34 m | 17.17 bn $ | 1.1 % | 1,288 $ |
| 2016 | 17.24 m | 20.92 bn $ | 1.4 % | 1,214 $ |
| 2015 | 13.23 m | 18.71 bn $ | 1.3 % | 1,414 $ |
| 2014 | 14.20 m | 22.39 bn $ | 1.5 % | 1,577 $ |
| 2013 | 12.18 m | 19.46 bn $ | 1.4 % | 1,598 $ |
| 2012 | 11.14 m | 18.73 bn $ | 1.5 % | 1,681 $ |
| 2011 | 9.80 m | 17.33 bn $ | 1.4 % | 1,769 $ |
| 2010 | 8.80 m | 14.32 bn $ | 1.3 % | 1,627 $ |
| 2009 | 7.82 m | 13.29 bn $ | 1.5 % | 1,700 $ |
| 2008 | 6.89 m | 13.46 bn $ | 1.3 % | 1,953 $ |
| 2007 | 6.45 m | 9.27 bn $ | 0.83 % | 1,437 $ |
| 2006 | 6.16 m | 8.45 bn $ | 0.83 % | 1,372 $ |
| 2005 | 6.02 m | 8.29 bn $ | 0.92 % | 1,376 $ |
| 2004 | 5.82 m | 8.23 bn $ | 1.1 % | 1,414 $ |
| 2003 | 4.75 m | 7.01 bn $ | 1.0 % | 1,474 $ |
| 2002 | 5.35 m | 7.62 bn $ | 1.3 % | 1,425 $ |
| 2001 | 5.15 m | 7.92 bn $ | 1.5 % | 1,539 $ |
| 2000 | 5.32 m | 8.53 bn $ | 1.5 % | 1,602 $ |
| 1999 | 4.66 m | 8.34 bn $ | 1.7 % | 1,789 $ |
| 1998 | 4.25 m | 8.26 bn $ | 2.2 % | 1,944 $ |
| 1997 | 3.91 m | 6.32 bn $ | 1.1 % | 1,616 $ |
| 1996 | 3.68 m | 6.35 bn $ | 1.1 % | 1,724 $ |
| 1995 | 3.75 m | 6.67 bn $ | 1.2 % | 1,777 $ |
All data correspond to the information of the World Tourism Organization.
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