by CNNGo staff
The tourism industry in Korea is “screaming for joy” over the rapid increase of Chinese tourists to Korea but desperately needs to upgrade its tourism offerings in order to accommodate rising Chinese demand, according to local media.
The problems are not unique to Korea, with many nations and tourism bodies ill-equipped to adapt to a growing numbers of Chinese visitors.
Although the exact figure is yet to be released, the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) estimates 110,000-120,000 Chinese tourists visited Korea during China’s Golden Week holiday from September 30 to October 7, and spent ₩20 billion (approximately US$18 million).
According to the Korea Herald Business, Chinese tourists to Korea outnumbered Japanese tourists for the first time ever this past July and are forecast to consistently become Korea’s number one inbound tourism group.
However, there were accounts from Chinese visitors unsatisfied with their travel experiences in Korea, the report added (Korean language).
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