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Overview
Korea is located in Northeast Asia, a region which is emerging as the world's largest market for tourism. The country is located at the center of major Asian cities with growing populations and rising expendable income, not to mention a growing desire to travel beyond national borders.
Domestic Tourism Market
Tourists and Tourism Revenue
(Unit: thousand persons)
| Inbound Visitors | Outbound Visitors | |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 5,818 | 8,826 |
| 2005 | 6,023 | 10,080 |
| 2006 | 6,155 | 11,610 |
| 2007 | 6,448 | 13,325 |
Source: Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST)
East Asia-Pacific Region Market and Korean Market for Tourism
Market share of the East Asia-Pacific Region in the Global Tourism Market
- 2000 13.9%
- 2010 19.4%
- 2020 25.4%
Source : UNWTO(UN World Tourism Organization), Tourism 2020 Vision
Demand for tourism in the East Asia-Pacific region, including China, Japan, and Korea, will likely surge (UNWTO, Tourism 2020 Vision).
The number of tourists in the East Asia-Pacific region will increase to 109.3 million by 2010 and 224.3 million by 2020, up from 51.7 million in 2000.
The growth rate of tourism in the East Asia-Pacific region is averaging 6.7% on an annual basis, higher than that (4%) of the global tourism growth rate.
The Korean tourism market is rapidly growing in size at an annual average of 7.3% as a significantly increasing number of Koreans travel both domestically and overseas.
Inbound Visitors
Inbound Visitors in 2007"
- Other 23.6%
- Japan 34.7%
- Taiwan 5.2%
- Hong kong 2.2%
- Thailand 2.3%
- Philippines 4.1%
- China 16.6%
- U.S. 9.1%
- Russia 2.2%
Source : Korea Touriam Organization Tourism Statistics (2007)
In 2007, the total number of inbound foreign visitors was 6.45 million, up 4.8% from the previous year. By nationality, Japan accounted for the most, 2,236,000, or 34.7%, followed by China 1,069,000, or 16.6% of the total.
- By purpose, "tours" accounted for 70.9%.
- By age, visitors to Korea were evenly distributed: 20s (15.6%), 30s (19.3%), 40s (18.4%), and 50s (15.3%).
- The average period of stay was 10.9 days, up 61% from the previous year (6.8 days).
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