The state-run Korea Tourism Organisation (KTO) reports that nearly 1.12 million tourists arrived in South Korea in January 2025.
Analysts point out that, as this is higher than the total reported in January 2024, the recent declaration of martial law and its subsequent fallout has not deterred foreign travellers from making their way to the country.
January 2025 arrivals were up 27 percent from the 881,000 recorded in January 2024, putting South Korea on track towards its 20-million arrivals target for this year.
Necessary measures
Acting KTO president Seo Young-choong recently announced a new slew of measures meant to mitigate the impact of recent socio-political issues on the tourism sector.
Seo declared that the KTO will front-load its 2025 budget to sustain the momentum for the tourism sector.
That said, KTO plans to hold the bulk of its promotional roadshows in the first half of the year to drive what it calls an early travel boom.
Also, given the popularity of streaming programmes like Culinary Class Wars, the KTO intends to promote South Korea as a hub for gastronomic tourism on top of ongoing promotions spotlighting the country as a destination for beauty products and aesthetic procedures.
A KTO official remarked: “Korea has long been known for its variety of beauty treatments, and interest in its food has just gone global.”
Issues to consider
Despite this, the overall outlook for South Korean tourism in 2025 isn’t exactly optimistic.
Seo pointed out that the ongoing trade conflict between China and the United States may have repercussions on the KTO’s plan to attract Chinese travellers.
China is, at present, South Korea’s largest source market, with its nationals accounting for 364,000 of January’s arrivals total.
It should be noted, however, that the total number of Chinese arrivals fell short of KTO’s projected target, mostly due to lower spending caused by a slowdown in the Chinese economy.
To mitigate this, the KTO plans to expand its promotional endeavours to other countries, particularly Singapore and France which are potential targets for the Korean luxury travel sector.
