Sokcho tourism consumption exceeds the national average... Increased visits and consumption by foreigners

Sokcho = Yonhap News) Reporter Ryu Ho-jun = This summer, tourism consumption in Sokcho-si, Gangwon-do increased by 7.6% compared to last year, exceeding the national growth rate.

According to the Korea Tourism Organization's Korea Tourism Data Lab analyzed by the city on the 1st, Sokcho City's credit card-based domestic tourism consumption from June to August of this year was calculated to be 214.79 billion won.

This is a 7.6% increase over the same period last year, and is 1.3 percentage points higher than the national tourism consumption growth rate of 6.3%.

The amount of tourism consumption by foreigners was 212.94 billion won, accounting for 99.1% of the total tourism consumption.

Visits from outside the country also increased slightly during the holiday season of July and August.

Based on mobile communication data, the number of overseas visitors was 5,971,200, an increase of 31,465 from 5,939,735 in the same period last year.

By month, the number was 2,685,774 in July and 3,285,426 in August, up 0.3% and 0.7%, respectively, from the same month last year.

Foreign tourist consumption was concentrated in local commercial areas such as restaurants and shopping.

Of the approximately 160.5 billion won in tourism consumption by out-of-towners between July and August, the food and beverage industry accounted for 96.9 billion won and the shopping industry accounted for 36.3 billion won, accounting for approximately 83% of the total.

Consumption of 10.4 billion won also occurred in the lodging industry.

The proportion of visits accompanied by lodging was also higher than the national average.

The proportion of overnight visitors among unique visitors from outside the country was 26.2% in July and 26.6% in August, significantly exceeding the national averages of 7.4% and 7.7% for local governments in the same months.

The average number of nights stayed was 2.52 days in July and 2.51 days in August.

The interest of foreigners was divided into traditional markets, beaches, mountain and port tourist attractions, etc.

Sokcho Tourist & Fishery Market was ranked first, Sokcho Beach was second, and Seorak Cable Car, Daepo Port, and Dongmyeong Port were also ranked among the popular tourist destinations for out-of-towners based on navigation searches from June to August.

The city analyzed that while demand for summer visits is maintained, local tourism consumption, including restaurants, shopping, and lodging, has increased compared to last year.

Mayor Lee Byeong-seon said, "The fact that tourism consumption this summer exceeded the national growth rate is significant in that the number of tourists visiting Sokcho led to consumption in the region. We will increase the competitiveness of tourism so that travel to enjoy Sokcho's various charms can also be a boost to the local commercial district."