The number of inbound visitors to Korea reached approximately 18.94 million in 2025, surpassing the pre-pandemic peak of 17.50 million in 2019 and continuing to expand rapidly. As inbound visitors generate tourism exports through their consumption of a wide range of goods and services in Korea, the potential contribution of inbound tourism to the Korean economy has also gained increasing attention.
The number of inbound visitors is an important quantitative indicator, but it alone does not fully capture the economic impact of tourism. Even with the same number of inbound visitors, tourism export receipts may vary depending on the length of stay and average daily expenditure per visitor. Likewise, even for the same amount of tourism exports, the domestic value added retained in the economy—that is, the growth effect—may differ depending on the composition of visitor expenditure and the value-added capacity of tourism industries. Tourism performance should therefore be assessed not only in terms of inbound visitor numbers, but also in terms of tourism export receipts and the domestic value added they generate.
Estimates show that tourism exports contributed an average of 0.04%p per year to Korea’s economic growth since 2000. The contribution rose to 0.15%p during 2022–25, as inbound tourism demand recovered in earnest. Around 60% of the growth contribution was generated directly in tourism industries such as accommodation, food services, and transportation, while the remaining 40% was generated indirectly through upstream industries supplying intermediate goods and services.
Japan has broadly similar conditions for inbound tourism demand to Korea and has developed its tourism industry over a long period. In 2025, its tourism exports amounted to 1.46% of GDP. Using this ratio as an illustrative benchmark—not as a policy target or projection—Korea’s tourism export receipts would need to increase by USD 5.56 billion, or 25.4%, from their 2025 level. This would generate an additional USD 4.40 billion (KRW 6.3 trillion) in domestic value added, equivalent to 0.235% of Korea’s nominal GDP in 2025.
Reaching this benchmark through an increase in visitor numbers alone would entail a relatively large policy burden. A combination of higher visitor numbers, greater expenditure, and longer stays would provide a more effective and less demanding adjustment path. If the benchmark were met through a single variable, visitor numbers would have to rise by 4.81 million (18.94→23.75), average daily expenditure per visitor by USD 45.2 (177.8→223.0), or average length of stay by 1.7 days (6.5→8.2). By contrast, with length of stay held at 6.5 days, the benchmark could be reached by increasing visitor numbers to 21.20 million (+2.26) and average daily expenditure to USD 199.1 (+21.3).
Even for a given level of tourism exports, domestic value added could be increased by improving the composition of inbound visitor expenditure and the value-added ratios of key tourism industries. Estimates show that if the share of expenditure on high-value-added services such as medical services were raised from 17.2% to 35.0%, and the value-added ratios of accommodation, air transportation, and food services increased by 10%p, 5%p, and 8%p, respectively, domestic value added would rise from KRW 6.3 trillion to KRW 6.7 trillion. This would be equivalent, in terms of domestic value-added generation, to an additional 1.7% increase in tourism exports.
These findings suggest that the focus of tourism policy performance management should be broadened beyond the number of inbound visitors to encompass tourism export receipts and the domestic value added they generate. Korea should expand tourism exports by jointly increasing inbound visitor numbers, length of stay, and average daily expenditure, while also shifting visitor expenditure toward high-value-added services and improving the value-added capacity of tourism industries. Such efforts would help ensure that a given amount of tourism exports translates into greater domestic production, income, and ultimately a larger contribution to economic growth.