Seoul: Foreign tourists' spending in South Korea accounted for 1.17 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2025 amid a rise in inbound travelers, a central bank report showed Wednesday.

According to Yonhap News Agency, a total of 18.94 million foreigners visited South Korea in 2025, staying an average of 6.5 days and spending an average of US$177.8 per day per person, as per the report published by the Bank of Korea (BOK). Their spending on goods and services, classified as tourism exports under the travel account in the balance of payments, accounted for 2.5 percent of the country's total private consumption of around 1,200 trillion won (US$843.1 billion) last year.

Foreign tourists' spending contributed an average of 0.04 percentage point to annual GDP growth over the 2000-2025 period. The contribution rose to 0.15 percentage point in 2024 and 2025, when South Korea reported a sharp increase in foreign arrivals. By comparison, Japan, which welcomed more than 40 million foreign visitors last year, posted tourism exports equivalent to 1.46 percent of its GDP.

The BOK emphasized that South Korea needs to make further efforts not only to attract more foreign tourists but also to encourage them to stay longer and spend more to maximize the economic benefits of tourism. The report suggested that raising tourism's contribution to GDP to Japan's level would require a 25 percent increase in foreign tourists' spending. This could be achieved by increasing the number of foreign visitors by 4.81 million to 23.75 million. Alternatively, the same result could be achieved if the current number of foreign visitors stayed an average of 8.2 days and spent US$223 per day.