[Edaily Kang Gyeong-rok Travel Reporter] Interest in travel to South Korea is growing in Europe. With the United Kingdom, Germany, and France emerging as key markets, searches for accommodations in South Korea appear to be spreading from Western Europe to Central and Eastern Europe.

Travel platform Agoda announced on the 18th that, according to an analysis of data on South Korean accommodations searched by European users between April and June for travel in July and August, the UK had the highest search volume. Germany rose from third place last year to second this year, overtaking France. France ranked third, while Spain and Italy took fourth and fifth place, respectively. This marks Italy’s first entry into the top five this year.
However, this survey is based solely on accommodation searches conducted on the Agoda platform. It does not reflect actual bookings, the number of visitors to Korea, or each country’s share of the overall European travel market. Agoda also did not disclose the number of searches by country or the conversion rate to bookings.
Demand for travel to Korea from the European market is also reflected in actual arrival statistics. According to the Korea Tourism Organization, the number of foreign visitors to Korea in the first half of this year reached 10.71 million, a 21.3% increase compared to the same period last year. In June alone, approximately 120,000 European tourists visited Korea.
The UK market is believed to have been influenced by an expansion in air service. Virgin Atlantic launched a new direct route between London Heathrow and Incheon in April. As the number of direct flights has increased, accessibility to Korea for British travelers has improved.

In Italy, air connectivity between the two countries was strengthened by Asiana Airlines’ launch of a regular Incheon–Milan route. The fact that South Korea and Italy have established a Special Strategic Partnership and are expanding cultural and people-to-people exchanges is also cited as a factor boosting interest in travel to South Korea. However, no separate survey results were presented to confirm a causal relationship between the new flights and the increase in search volume.
Ukraine recorded the highest growth rate in searches for accommodations in Korea, with a 302% increase compared to the same period last year. Cyprus saw a 259% increase, and Austria a 62% increase. This suggests that interest in travel to Korea, which had been concentrated in Western Europe, has spread to some countries in Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe.
However, since Ukraine and Cyprus are likely markets with relatively low baseline search volumes, it is difficult to assess market size based solely on growth rates. To confirm whether the number of visitors to South Korea has actually increased, it is necessary to examine search volumes, booking rates, and statistics on arrivals by country together.
Seoul was the most-searched domestic destination among European users. Busan, Jeju, Incheon, and Gyeongju followed. The rankings remained the same as last year. Not only the Seoul metropolitan area and Jeju but also Busan, a coastal tourism city, and Gyeongju, a city rich in history and culture, maintained their top positions.
Alex Park, Country Manager of Agoda Korea, said, “Interest in travel to Korea is expanding beyond Western and Southern Europe to Central and Eastern Europe as well.”