More than 20% of foreign tourists who flew into South Korea in the first half of this year arrived through regional airports, easing the long-standing concentration at Incheon and Gimpo in the greater Seoul area.
The Korea Tourism Organization released the regional tourism analysis at the second "These Days, Korea Tourism Data Seminar," held on the 27th at The Plaza Hotel Seoul. The event followed a first seminar in May and drew about 500 participants, including officials from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, local governments, the tourism industry and academia.
Foreign tourists entering through regional airports such as Cheongju, Daegu, Gimhae and Jeju rose 42.1% to about 1.96 million in the first half of this year from about 1.38 million a year earlier, the organization said. Their share of total foreign arrivals climbed to 20.7% from 17.8%, a gain of 2.9 percentage points. Both the share and the number of arrivals exceeded pre-COVID-19 levels and set record highs.
By airport, foreign arrivals at Cheongju more than doubled. The organization attributed the increase to expanded flight capacity from low-cost carriers and a rise in Taiwanese visitors. Gimhae also saw a sharp increase in Taiwanese arrivals. The organization's Taipei office has widened its tourism marketing beyond Busan to the broader southern region and developed joint travel products with local governments.
The organization set up a task force in April to boost regional airports, focusing on Cheongju and Daegu to develop tourism content, attract air routes and improve infrastructure.
The seminar also examined the impact of rising foreign arrivals on the accommodation market and discussed ways to channel demand for Korean dramas into regional tourism.
"New tourism touchpoints such as regional airports, local destinations and K-content are translating into real demand," said Park Sung-hyuk, president of the Korea Tourism Organization. "We will read these changes accurately through data and find measures that genuinely help the regions."
The organization plans to hold a third seminar in November on K-beauty, wellness and medical tourism.
