South Korea Source Tourism Insight by Domestic and Outbound Tourism, Key Destinations and Tourist Profiles, 2024 Update
Powered by
All the vital news, analysis, and commentary curated by our industry experts.
GlobalData’s Tourism Source Market Insight: South Korea report provides a thorough insight into the South Korea's domestic and outbound tourism market. The report looks at the profiles of South Korean tourists and summarizes the key reasons that they travel. The report offers an in-depth analysis of traveler flows, spending patterns, main destination markets and current and future opportunities for tourism businesses seeking to tap into the South Korea's outbound travel market.
South Korea Source Tourism Market Dynamics
In 2022, the South Korean tourism sector witnessed a significant recovery. However, that’s still lower than the pre-pandemic levels seen in 2019. GlobalData expects international departures reach to the pre-pandemic level by 2024. A further recovery in international tourism is expected to positively contribute to South Korea’s economic growth in 2023.
In Feb 2023, China lifted the travel ban on South Korea and initiated the processing of its temporary visa applications, this plays a crucial role in supporting outbound tourism. South Korean authorities have announced that beginning March 11, 2023, travelers from China, Macau, and Hong Kong will no longer be required to take the COVID-19 pre-departure test.
For more insights into the South Korea source tourism market, download a free report sample
South Korea Source Tourism Market Segments
The key segments in the South Korea source tourism market are domestic tourism and outbound tourism. Domestic tourism was the leading segment in the South Korea source tourism market in 2022.
Domestic Tourism: Leisure is the most popular purpose of domestic travel. Leisure continues to be the most popular purpose of visit in domestic tourism. As a result of the reduced Covid 19 policies, borders across the world have reopened. Seoul’s government has announced measures that will ease travel restrictions and is targeting 30 million tourists by 2027. The tourism organization intends to achieve this number through digital tourism platform services and Korean-content storytelling tour programs, featuring cities such as Gyeongju, Jeju City, Suwon, Busan, Chuncheon, and, of course, the capital Seoul.
Outbound Tourism: Outbound tourism from South Korea has grown rapidly, now one of APAC’s largest source markets. South Korean outbound tourism had grown to become the third largest source market in the APAC region in 2019 when measured by trips. GlobalData expects international departures will grow significantly by 2027. International borders are opened for travelers after the pandemic which created an opportunity for Koreans to travel across the world, Passport holders from South Korea will no longer require a visa to enter 146 countries and territories as of May 2023.
For more segment insights into the South Korea source tourism market, download a free report sample
South Korea Source Tourism Market Segmentation by Holiday Types
The types of holidays preferred by tourists from South Korea are sun & beach holidays, cultural holidays, city break holidays, visiting friends or family, gastronomical holidays, adventure/sports holidays, multi-stop trip holidays, wellness/medical holidays, cruise, eco holidays, LGBTQ holidays, wedding-related holidays, and religious holidays, among others. In 2021, sun & beach holidays were the most popular with South Korea tourists.
South Korea Source Tourism Market Analysis by Holiday Types, 2021 (%)
For more holiday-type insights into South Korea source tourism market, download a free report sample
Segments Covered in the Report
South Korea Source Tourism Market Segments Outlook
- Domestic Tourism
- Outbound Tourism
South Korea Source Tourism Market Holiday Types
- Sun & Beach Holidays
- Visiting Friends or Family
- Cruise
- Adventure/Sports Holidays
- City Break Holidays
- Religious Holidays
- Gastronomical Holidays
- Eco Holidays
- Cultural Holidays
- Wellness/Medical Holidays
- Multi-Stop Trip Holidays
- Wedding-Related Holidays
- LGBTQ Holidays
Scope
This report is part of GlobalData's Source Market Insights Series. This report provides an in-depth analysis of traveler flows, spending patterns, main destination markets, as well as current and future opportunities for tourism businesses seeking to tap into the outbound travel market.
Key Highlights
According to the GlobalData's Q3 2021 consumer survey, gastronomical holidays are one of the most preferred types of holiday for South Korean travelers with 44% of people stating that they would prefer to take gastronomical holidays. This is significantly higher than the global average of 26%. 39% of South Korean respondents are also influenced by popular destinations for food and drinks when deciding on a holiday destination, higher than the global average of 33%.
Transportation and retail have consistently been the top sectors of spending for South Korean travelers abroad. They comprised 36.9% and 21.6% respectively of the total outbound tourism expenditure in 2023.
China is slowly re-developing as a prominent destination market for South Korean travelers. The number of South Korean travelers departing for China increased to 424 thousand in 2023 and is forecast to grow further with a CAGR of 34.09% for 2023-2028, highlighting the growing interest in the destination.
According to GlobalData’s Traveler Spending Patterns database, outbound expenditure reached a high of $38 billion in 2018, following steady growth from $24.5 billion in 2013 (CAGR 2013-18: 9.18%). This outbound tourism industry expenditure experienced a notable fall in 2020 and 2021 to reach an all- time low of $2 billion in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The overall outbound spending for 2023 reached $22.8 billion showing a movement in the positive direction.
Reasons to Buy
This report provides clear insight into developments in South Korea's regional and outbound tourism markets. The report uses data and analysis to discuss future trends related to domestic trips, international departures, traveler spending, and main destination markets.
KakaoTalk
YouTube
Airbnb
Booking.com
Yanolja
TUI
Kozaza
BnB Hero
NAVER
Table of Contents
Frequently asked questions
-
Which is the leading segment in the South Korea source tourism market?
Domestic tourism is the leading segment in the South Korea source tourism market.
-
What are the types of holidays in the South Korea source tourism market?
The types of holidays in the South Korea source tourism market are sun & beach holidays, cultural holidays, city break holidays, visiting friends or family, gastronomical holidays, adventure/sports holidays, multi-stop trip holidays, wellness/medical holidays, cruise, eco holidays, LGBTQ holidays, wedding-related holidays, and religious holidays, among others.
-
Which is the leading holiday type in the South Korea source tourism market?
Sun & beach holiday is the leading holiday type in the South Korea source tourism market.
Get in touch to find out about multi-purchase discounts
reportstore@globaldata.com
Tel +44 20 7947 2745
Every customer’s requirement is unique. With over 220,000 construction projects tracked, we can create a tailored dataset for you based on the types of projects you are looking for. Please get in touch with your specific requirements and we can send you a quote.