Seoul tourist spending shifts towards trendy districts and experiences over shopping

Image Credits: english.visitkorea.or.kr

Since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, tourists in Seoul seem to be more interested in checking out trendy neighborhoods for experiences rather than just shopping in commercial areas.

This is a change from what they used to focus on before.

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BC Card analyzed credit card transactions in Korea by tourists — they looked at last year’s data and compared it to 2019, which was before the pandemic hit.

It seems like places in Seoul with cafes and photo booths saw a big jump in money spent by foreign visitors.

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Specifically, Seongsu-dong in east Seoul, known for its cafes and photo spots, had an insane 973% increase in card spending by tourists in 2023 compared to four years ago.