Jeju Island Sees Decline in Domestic Tourists Despite Surge in Foreign Visitors

 

Despite a brief rebound during the summer months, the number of domestic tourists visiting Jeju Island has significantly decreased once again. According to the Jeju Tourism Association, the cumulative number of domestic tourists from January 1st to October 31st this year reached approximately 10.06 million, marking a 6.3% decrease compared to the previous year.

A monthly breakdown reveals a consistent decline in domestic tourism throughout the year, with the exception of a slight recovery in July and August. However, the downward trend resumed sharply from September onwards. Notably, the milestone of 10 million domestic visitors was reached on October 30th this year, 18 days later than in the previous year.

Several factors are believed to be contributing to the decline in domestic tourism. The resurgence of overseas travel following the pandemic, coupled with rising domestic prices and negative publicity surrounding issues like overpriced meals and poor service quality, have all deterred potential visitors.

The declining number of tourists and decreasing satisfaction levels were also highlighted during a National Assembly Committee on Public Safety and Administration hearing held on October 23rd.

In response to these challenges, the Jeju provincial government has established an Emergency Committee for Tourism Innovation and launched a unified tourist complaint center. While these measures were expected to help curb the decline in domestic tourism during the second half of the year, the initial results have been mixed.

Conversely, the number of foreign tourists visiting Jeju has surged significantly. From January to October, a total of 1.66 million foreign visitors were recorded, representing a 200% increase compared to the previous year. Thanks to this surge in foreign tourism, the overall number of visitors to Jeju, including both domestic and foreign tourists, reached approximately 11.73 million, marking a 3.8% increase year-on-year.