The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) has been urged to focus on quality over quantity after the latest tourism data showed that visitor spending and length of stay are declining.
While visitation to South Korea has surged in recent years, rising by 71.7% between 2023 and 2025 to 18.94 million and by another 21.6% to 15.05 million between January and August this year, the average length of stay has fallen from 7.8 days to 6.5 days. Similarly, average spending per person on accommodation is down 17.8%, while spending at restaurants has fallen by 16.9%.
According to news agency Aju Press, a similar pattern has been observed among cruise tourists, with passenger numbers rising 4.5-fold in three years to 905,000, yet spending per person is down 81% from a decade ago.
Lawmaker Jeong Yeon-uk of the opposition People Power Party said, “Tourism-related tasks are divided among several government ministries. For example, the Justice Ministry handles cruise visas, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries oversees port terminals and the Ministry of Health and Welfare is responsible for foreign medical patients, making it difficult to attract and manage tourists effectively.”
According to Aju Press, Jeong also urged the KTO to focus its promotional efforts on encouraging longer stays rather than sheer visitor volume alone.
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