Foreign tourists walk on a street in Seoul’s Itaewon district, in this May 29, 2022, file photo. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Oct. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean hotels are accommodating more foreigners following the government’s lifting of restrictions on tourists arriving from abroad.
At 86 percent, the vast majority of all guests at RYSE, Autograph Collection, located in Hongdae, a popular entertainment district in western Seoul, were foreign tourists in the third quarter of this year, up by 77 percentage points from last year.
In September, 55 percent of all guests at Four Points by Four Points by Sheraton Josun, Seoul Myeongdong, run by Josun Hotels and Resorts, were foreigners.
Last year, foreign guests accounted for no more than 10 percent of the total. Now, the proportion has jumped by a factor of five.
Lotte Hotel subsidiaries L7 Myeongdong and L7 Hongdae saw the proportion of foreign guests jump to 60 percent between August and September.
Luxury hotels are also seeing a similar trend. The Westin Josun Seoul saw its proportion of foreign guests increase to 50 percent, doubling from last year.
Lotte Hotel Seoul’s proportion of foreign tourists jumped from 20 percent last year to 60 percent as of September this year.
The Korea Tourism Organization said 310,945 foreign tourists visited South Korea in August, up by 220.3 percent from last year.
Industry sources expect that the numbers will continue to increase, boosted by the devaluation of the won against the dollar.
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
