The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) announced its tourism revitalization plan for 2022 to 2026 with the goal of welcoming 30+ million international tourists as it steadily recuperates from the long period of slump in global tourism due to the pandemic.

In the midst of the fierce competition among major international cities to attract international tourists, Seoul is expanding its tourism content from what was mainly shopping to local attractions including the city’s mountains, Hangang River, Cheongwadae and Gwanghwamun Square, as well as lifestyle attractions including beauty, gourmet, and fashion to cater to global fans of Seoul.

To this end, Seoul will reinforce investment and support for the high value-added industry of MICE to firmly establish itself as the best city in the world.

Also, the city will promote Metaverse Seoul, its state-of-the-art digital platform, so that related industries can quickly respond to the changing trends of mediated communication and virtual interaction during COVID-19.

The city’s tourism sector will partner up with tech startups to embrace digital technologies that cater to Millennials and Gen Z, which account for 63.9% of international tourists visiting Korea, so that international tourists can travel more conveniently through online services for reservation, payment, and transportation.

Lastly, the city will prepare to revamp its tourism paradigm so that the travel industry, tourists, and residents can all fairly coexist by developing its own tourist indicators to serve as the standard for managing the quality of the city’s tourism. Expanding the criteria to assess not just the number of tourists but also various factors such as tourists’ duration of stay, spending amount, and satisfaction, the city will reinforce regular monitoring and enforcement to prevent the mass dumping of low-quality tourism packages brought on by excessive competition.

Seoul aims to implement this five-year tourism revitalization plan to take position as one of the top five major international cities most visited and beloved by tourists.