Tourism

Tourism (관광/觀光) refers to the foreign tourists' travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization (WTO) defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".

In Korea, tourism has become an important sector of service industries. As the Korean government, regardless of central or local, as well as businesses come to recognize foreign tourists as good source of cash flows, a number of measures to induce foreign tourists are produced one after another.

The number of tourists visiting Korea is steadily increasing every year. and, actually in a yearly basis. exceeded 10 million in November 2012. For the past few years, the foreign visitors for medical tourism significantly increased calling for the appropriate government policy measures.

Key words
tourism, inbound and outbound, medical tourism, accommodation facilities, Korean Wave (Hallyu)

Statistics
The number of foreign tourists surpassed 10,000 in 1961, 1 million in 1978, and 5 million in 2000, rising 1,000 times in five decades. Korea ranked 25th in the world with 9.79 million foreign tourists in 2011, and, with the figure around 11.2 million at the end of 2012, the ranking is likely to climb to 22nd or 23rd.

The tourism industry contributed just 5.2 percent to GDP in 2011, way below the world average of 9.1 percent.

Relevant Statutes
In view of the increasing importance of tourism, the government has established statutory grounds to promote inbound tourism.
 * The Framework Act on Tourism (관광기본법/觀光基本法)
 * The Tourism Promotion Act (관광진흥법/觀光振興法)
 * The Tourism Promotion and Development Fund Act (관광진흥개발기금법/觀光振興開發基金法)
 * The Special Act to Expand Tourism and Accommodation Facilities (관광숙박시설 확충을 위한 특별법)
 * The Special Regulations on VAT and Individual Consumption Tax for Foreign Tourists, etc. (외국인관광객 등에 대한 부가가치세 및 개별소비세 특례규정)

Analysis and Prospects
Part of the reason for the increase is the popularity of Korean TV soaps and pop music abroad, chiefly among Chinese travelers. Medical and so-called MICE (meetings, incentives, conferencing and exhibitions) tourism has also been posting 20 to 30 percent growth. The government hopes to attract 20 million tourists in 2020.

Experts say Korea's tourism industry still has a long way to go as it is still far behind its GDP, which ranks 15th in the world. According to the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index compiled by the World Economic Forum last year, Korea ranked 32nd out of 139 countries studied.

In a 2011 survey by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, foreign tourists complained about the language barrier, lack of tourist information signs, traffic jams, bad food and pushy souvenir sellers constrained by the tight budget in case of packaged tour, and insufficient accommodations in Seoul area.

The country has yet to see the enough economic spill-over effects from tourism, and people still shows prejudice toward foreign visitors and lack hospitality.

Although tourism revenues have doubled between 2005 and 2011 as numbers grew, spending by per tourist grew mere 4.4 percent. Experts cite the trend toward budget trips and short stays.

According to the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute, once the tourist number hits the 10-million mark, the global recognition of a country grows significantly and the number could accelerate from there. So Korea is required to serve tourists better and increase the return rate. It should also boost competitiveness by developing new tourist programs based on the unique history and culture of each region.

With respect to medical tourism, see Medical tourism.

For further information on tourism in Korean, it is advisable to get a big picture at useful links for Tourists.