▲ This photo of the annual Gokseong World Rose Festival is provided by Gokseong County. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE)(Yonhap)

 

SEOUL, June 1 (Yonhap) -- More than 14 million people attended local cultural tourism festivals across South Korea last year, marking a record high, while the number of foreign visitors exceeded 100,000 for the second consecutive year, according to a report released Monday.

 

The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) unveiled its "Big Data Analysis of Cultural Tourism Festivals" report, showing that a total of 14.31 million people visited cultural tourism festivals designated by the government in 2025.

 

The analysis covered 62 festivals, excluding three events that were canceled among 65 government-designated cultural tourism festivals last year.

 

▲ This photo, provided by the office of Hwacheon County on Jan. 24, 2026, shows visitors to the 2026 Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival, a world-famous annual ice fishing festival in Hwacheon, a remote mountain town in Gangwon Province. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

 

Total attendance has risen steadily since reaching 11.57 million in 2018, except during the COVID-19 pandemic years of 2020 and 2021.

 

The number of foreign visitors also increased from 102,000 in 2024 to 109,000 in 2025, remaining above the 100,000 mark for a second straight year.

 

The share of foreign visitors among total attendees rose consistently, from 0.1 percent in 2022 to 0.5 percent in 2023, 0.7 percent in 2024 and 0.8 percent in 2025.

 

By age group, people in their 50s accounted for the largest share of visitors at 19.3 percent, followed by those in their 60s at 18.3 percent, those in their 30s at 15.9 percent, those in their 40s at 15.4 percent, people in their 20s at 14.3 percent and those aged 70 or older at 9.0 percent.

 

The proportion of visitors in their 20s declined from 17.7 percent in 2018 to 14.3 percent last year, while the share of visitors aged 60 and older has continued to increase.

 

First-time visitors accounted for 72.8 percent of total attendees, while repeat visitors made up 27.2 percent.

 

The proportion of festivals offering paid programs rose from 69.8 percent in 2018 to 88.7 percent in 2025.

 

Total spending at festivals reached 463.9 billion won (US$335 million) last year, up 5.4 percent from a year earlier.

 

Food and beverage purchases accounted for the largest portion of spending at 48.4 percent, followed by shopping at 35.7 percent, transportation at 7.4 percent and leisure services at 4.1 percent.

 

Average spending per visitor per festival visit came to 32,415 won, slightly higher than the previous year. Foreign visitors spent the most at 76,091 won per visit, followed by domestic visitors from outside the region at 53,951 won and local residents at 1,480 won.

 

The combined budget for all festivals totaled 105.52 billion won, with an average budget of 1.7 billion won per festival.

 

▲ The 18th Goyang International Flower Festival is held at Ilsan Lake Park in Goyang

 

The KTO estimated that cultural tourism festivals generated an economic impact of more than 582.7 billion won in 2025, with each festival producing an average daily economic impact of over 1.5 billion won.

 

The organization also estimated the festivals created more than 600 billion won in overall social impact, based on factors such as lodging expenditures by visitors and positive mentions of festivals on social media platforms.

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