Vietnamese tourists emerge as big spenders in Korea

[Viet]

South Jeolla Province officials welcome arriving foreign tourists at Muan International Airport in this March file photo. Korea Times file

By Lee Kyung-min

A growing number of Vietnamese people are coming to Korea on vacation, making large purchases at retail chains and department stores in Seoul and other regions that have yet to snap out of years of financial slowdown from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report revealed on Friday.

Behind the recent spike in spending by Vietnamese travelers here is the resumption of flight routes. Korea's international airports in Gimhae, Busan and South Jeolla Province's Muan operate direct flights to Vietnam.

Data from BC Card, a credit card firm, showed the number of card transactions made by Vietnamese tourists in the first six months of this year spiked 468 percent from the year before. For context, the year-on-year increase was 358 percent for foreign tourists excluding Vietnamese.

The data analyzed 1.2 million foreign tourists' card transaction history in the January-June period over the past three years.

Vietnamese tourists made up 51 percent of their transactions outside Seoul, the data showed.

Cities and municipalities that registered over three-fold increases in Vietnamese travelers' spending in the first six months of this year included Seoul, Jejeu Island, Gyeonggi Province, Busan and South Jeolla Province.

In Seoul, Vietnamese tourists visited large shopping malls in Myeong-dong, central Seoul, followed by Gangnam district of Seoul, Yongdam 2-dong on Jeju Island where Jeju Airport's duty-free shopping area is located.

Many went to Mangwon Market in Seoul, Yeosu in South Jeolla Province as well as Gimpo, western Seoul and Haeundae district of Busan where Shinsegae Centum City is based.

Busan was a popular destination for Vietnamese tourists over the past few months, in part because of the city's promotional efforts to host the World Expo in 2030.

A visa waiver program that allows travelers to stay in the country for 15 days without a visa was implemented by South Jeolla Province in March and has led to an increase in the number of Vietnamese tourists, the report said.

However, the Vietnamese tourists failed to offset Korea's extended current account deficit in travel accounts.

Bank of Korea data on May's international account balance showed the country registered an $820 million (1.04 trillion won) travel account deficit, meaning the growth of Korean travelers' total overseas spending outpaced the rise in spending by inbound travelers.

Meanwhile, the number of inbound foreign tourists in June reached 961,000, up 321 percent from a year earlier. It was the highest figure since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Korea Tourism Organization.

By country, Japanese tourists topped the list. In June, over 197,000 Japanese tourists visited Korea, up 3,256 percent from the year before.

Vietnamese tourists emerge as big spenders in Korea

A growing number of Vietnamese people are coming to Korea on vacation, making large purchases at retail chains and department stores in Seoul and other regions that have yet to snap out of years of financial slowdown from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report revealed on Friday.

m.koreatimes.co.kr

 

[Song Hong]

Korean is fking people. Korean should let China fk their women. Their economy is bad. Only fking can save Korea.

************

In 2003, the Korean Ministry of Gender Equality announced that 260,000 women—1 of 25 of young Korean women—may be engaged in the sex industry. The Korea Women's Development Institute suggested that from 514,000 to 1.2 million Korean women participate in the prostitution industry. A similar report by the Korean Institute of Criminology noted that 20% of men in their 20s pay for sex at least four times a month, with 358,000 visiting prostitutes daily.

Prostitution in South Korea - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[REhorror]

Wow, we are rich.

 

[Abdul Rehman Majeed]

Korean is fking people. Korean should let China fk their women. Their economy is bad. Only fking can save Korea.

************

In 2003, the Korean Ministry of Gender Equality announced that 260,000 women—1 of 25 of young Korean women—may be engaged in the sex industry. The Korea Women's Development Institute suggested that from 514,000 to 1.2 million Korean women participate in the prostitution industry. A similar report by the Korean Institute of Criminology noted that 20% of men in their 20s pay for sex at least four times a month, with 358,000 visiting prostitutes daily.

Prostitution in South Korea - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

You east asians should stop practicing pagan religions and revert to Islam instead.

Only Islam can save you people.

Population in Islamic nations never goes down.

 

[REhorror]

You east asians should stop practicing pagan religions and revert to Islam instead.

Only Islam can save you people.

Population in Islamic nations never goes down.

Meh, it's better than Xianity I guess.

Still, birthrate is also down in all Islamic countries, it's just a matter of times.

 

[KAL-EL]

Wow, we are rich.

Lots of Korean barbecue

 

[Viet]

Wow, we are rich.

I think many Vietnamese tourists just there explore to make money in Korea. They will open restaurants, nails. Few years down the road people will see mass of new businesses like here in Germany, France, Poland, etc. restaurants, nails everywhere. Win win.

 

[REhorror]

I think many Vietnamese tourists just there explore to make money in Korea. They will open restaurants, nails. Few years down the road people will see mass of them like here in Germany, France, Poland, etc. restaurants, nails everywhere.

Bruh, the article literally says they are spending on the supermarket.
You mistake immigrants with tourists there.

 

[Viet]

Bruh, the article literally says they are spending on the supermarket.
You mistake immigrants with tourists there.

No contradiction. Many come as tourists they spend money in shopping centers. Some want to buy properties. Then some look to open a business. Then they stay in Korea.