Korea's tourism balance swings to deficit in July after 4 months of surplus

Korea's tourism balance turned into a deficit in July, following four months of surplus, according to industry data released on Sunday. The July deficit amounted to $50.3 million, marking a reversal from the previous June surplus of $596.6 million, as reported by the Korea Tourism Organization. In July, Korean tourists spent a total of $2.67 billion abroad, surpassing the $2.62 billion spent by foreign visitors in Korea, the data revealed.

For the past 72 months, Korea's tourism balance had been in the negative, starting from March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic started disrupting global travel. However, the balance shifted back to a surplus in March of this year and remained positive through June before plummeting into a deficit in July. Experts linked the resurgence in the tourism balance earlier this year to a series of major K-pop events by the supergroup BTS, which attracted foreign tourists to Korea, while also highlighting the need for more investment in culturally engaging content to lure more international travelers.