K-pop band BTS performs during its comeback concert at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, March 21. Joint Press Corps
International visitors who traveled to Seoul and Goyang for BTS concerts in March and early April stayed longer and spent significantly more money than the average tourist to Korea, according to data released by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
The ministry, working with the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute and the Korea Tourism Organization, surveyed concertgoers and analyzed telecommunications and card transaction data to assess the economic impact of major K-culture events on inbound tourism.
Foreign visitors who attended the Gwanghwamun concert March 21 stayed an average of 8.7 days and spent 3.53 million won ($2,391), well above figures for general inbound visitors. Those who attended the Goyang Stadium concerts on April 9, 11 and 12 averaged 7.4 days and 2.91 million won in spending, with many extending their itineraries to visit BTS THE CITY Seoul program venues including Yongsan, Myeongdong, Dongdaemun Design Plaza and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art.
The impact on the local economy near Goyang Stadium was particularly sharp. Telecommunications and card data from the Daehwa-dong area of Ilsan showed that foreign visitor numbers on the three concert days surged 35-fold compared with the same period a year earlier, while spending rose 38-fold.
The findings come after a Feb. 25 meeting of the National Tourism Strategy Council, where the government laid out plans to harness K-culture to boost inbound tourism and help revive regional destinations.
In a follow-up effort, the culture ministry and the Korea Tourism Year Committee will stage a “welcome week” from June 1 to 15, overlapping with BTS concerts in Busan on June 12 and 13.
The broader initiative also includes support for four regional K-pop concerts, two K-culture experience exhibitions tied to those events and the continued development of Hallyu tourism routes built around K-drama and music video filming locations.
"What matters is going beyond the concert itself as a standalone tourism product and linking K-culture with regional tourism content so that visits to the Seoul metropolitan area extend to other parts of the country," said a culture ministry official.
"We plan to actively support conditions under which foreign visitors who come specifically for K-culture experiences can transition into extended, stay-based tourism."
Source: Korea Times News
