Foreign tourists shop at Lotte Mart in Seoul Station, Tuesday. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
Foreign tourists' spending in 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.
A total of 18.94 million foreigners visited Korea in 2025, staying an average of 6.5 days and spending an average of $177.8 per day per person, according to 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 ($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 Korea reported a sharp increase in foreign arrivals.
