Korea's tourism balance swings to deficit in July after 4 months of surplus
Korea's tourism balance swung back to a deficit in July after posting surpluses for four consecutive months, industry data showed Sunday. The balance posted a deficit of $50.3 million in July, reversing a surplus of $596.6 million in June, according to the data from the Korea Tourism Organization. Total tourism spending by Koreans overseas reached $2.67 billion in July, exceeding the $2.62…
Korea's tourism industry saw a shift to a deficit in July, after four months of generating surpluses, according to recent data released by the Korea Tourism Organization. The balance registered a deficit of $50.3 million in July, marking a reversal from a surplus of $596.6 million in June. Total tourism spending by Koreans overseas in July amounted to $2.67 billion, surpassing the $2.62 billion spent by foreign visitors in the country.
The tourism balance had remained in the red for 72 straight months, since March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted international travel. It had returned to a surplus in March of this year and remained in the black through June before falling back into a deficit in July. Experts believe the improvement in the tourism balance earlier this year was partly due to a series of major K-pop events by the supergroup BTS, which attracted foreign visitors to Korea.
They also emphasized the need for concerted efforts to develop more appealing cultural content to draw more foreign travelers.
Written by urgent.news from The Korea Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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