[Edaily Kang Gyeong-rok Travel Reporter] An analysis has concluded that policymakers must manage not only the number of foreign tourists but also their length of stay, spending, and the value added generated by tourism exports within the country. The analysis points out that evaluating the economic impact of the tourism industry based solely on the increase in tourist numbers has its limitations.
According to a report titled “Growth Effects and Policy Directions of the Tourism Industry from the Perspective of Service Exports” recently released by the Bank of Korea, the number of foreign visitors to South Korea last year reached approximately 18.94 million, surpassing the 17.5 million recorded in 2019.
The Bank of Korea analyzed that the economic impact of the tourism industry is influenced not only by the number of visitors but also by the length of stay and daily per-capita spending. Even if the same amount is spent, the effect on domestic production and income varies depending on the sector in which the spending occurs and the value-added rate of that industry.
Last year, the average length of stay for international visitors to Korea was 6.5 days, and daily per-person spending was $177.8.
The Bank of Korea also analyzed a scenario in which South Korea’s tourism exports account for 1.46% of gross domestic product (GDP)—matching Japan’s level from last year.
To achieve this, tourism exports would need to increase by $5.56 billion, or 25.4%, compared to last year. In this scenario, the additional domestic value added was estimated at $4.4 billion, or approximately 6.3 trillion won.
To achieve this goal by increasing the number of tourists alone, the number of visitors to Korea would need to rise by 4.81 million, from 18.94 million to 23.75 million.
If the number of visitors remains the same, daily per-person spending would need to rise from $177.8 to $223, or the average length of stay would need to increase from 6.5 days to 8.2 days.

If both the number of visitors and their spending are increased, the required growth rate would decrease. According to the Bank of Korea’s analysis, maintaining the length of stay at 6.5 days while increasing the number of visitors to 21.2 million and raising daily per-person spending to $199.1 would allow Korea to reach Japan’s level of tourism export share.
Academics have also long argued that the economic impact of tourists on local economies should be assessed by considering visitor numbers, length of stay, and total spending together.
In a 2024 joint study, Professor Son Cheol of the Department of Urban Planning and Real Estate at Gangneung-Wonju University and Gil Seung-hoo, a researcher at the Bank of Korea’s Gangneung Branch, analyzed that total tourist spending—which directly impacts the local economy of a tourist destination—is determined by the number of visitors, length of stay, and daily per-person spending.
Tourism exports are also making a growing contribution to economic growth. According to the Bank of Korea’s estimates of tourism exports’ contribution to growth since 2000, the average annual contribution was 0.04 percentage points. During the period from 2022 to 2025, when demand for travel to Korea recovered, this figure rose to an average of 0.15 percentage points per year.
The analysis found that approximately 60% of the growth effect originated directly from tourism-related industries such as lodging, food, and transportation, while the remaining 40% came from upstream industries that supply goods and services to these sectors.
The areas where tourists spend their money also influence the economic impact. The Bank of Korea estimated that if the share of tourism spending in high-value-added sectors, such as medical tourism, were increased from 17.2% to 35%, and the value-added rates for the accommodation, air travel, and restaurant industries were raised by 10 percentage points, 5 percentage points, and 8 percentage points, respectively, the domestic value-added generated would increase from 6.3 trillion won to 6.7 trillion won.
The government’s efforts to expand medical, beauty, and luxury tourism, as well as international conferences and incentive tourism (MICE), are part of a strategy to increase the length of stay and spending by foreign visitors.
In the field of policy implementation, there are also emerging cases of utilizing indicators other than visitor numbers. In its “2030 Gyeonggi Tourism Grand Vision” released this year, the Gyeonggi Tourism Organization identified increases in length of stay and average spending per visitor as key indicators, rather than simply increasing visitor numbers. This decision was based on the assessment that, although the total number of visitors to Gyeonggi Province reached 680 million last year, the short length of stay by foreign visitors limited their contribution to the local economy.
Recently, foreign consumer spending has also been on the rise. The number of foreign visitors to South Korea in the first half of the year reached 10.71 million, a 21.3% increase compared to the same period last year. During the same period, foreign credit card spending totaled 10.0389 trillion won, a 50.8% increase.
However, it is difficult to directly interpret the increase in credit card spending as an increase in per-capita spending among all foreign visitors. Actual consumption levels must be assessed by examining travel expenses, length of stay, and average daily spending from the Foreign Tourist Survey.
The government is pushing to reach 30 million international visitors to Korea as soon as possible, while aiming for 40 million visitors in the long term. The Bank of Korea has proposed that performance management criteria for tourism policy should be expanded to include not only visitor numbers but also tourism export revenue, length of stay, per-capita spending, and domestic value added.

Along with increasing the number of visitors to Korea, the extent to which tourists’ length of stay and spending can be increased is expected to be a key factor determining the growth impact on the tourism industry.