Annual Production Boost by Chinese Tourists in Korea Reaches 13 Trillion Won

The Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade (KIET) announced on August 15 that a total of 4.32 million Chinese tourists visited Korea last year, resulting in a production boost of 13.3717 trillion won (US$13.1269 billion). The amount had been 5.5812 trillion won (US$5.4790 billion) back in 2010.

The rapid surge can be attributed to an increase in the number of Chinese inbound tourists from 1.87 million to 4.32 million during the last three years. In 2013, each of them spent an average of US$2,272 in Korea, while the amount was US$1,470 for Americans and US$990 for the Japanese. Chinese tourists spent most of their money on perfumes and cosmetics, which were followed by clothes, groceries, ginseng, and medicinal herbs.

“We need to continue developing valuable products that can represent Korea in step with the rapid increase, and control the quality of those products,” said KIET researcher Park Moon-soo, adding, “At the same time, efforts should be made to enhance the products’ reliability by means of co-brands of small and mid-size enterprises and the like.”