Foreigners' card spending in Seoul jumps nearly 58% to $6.57 bil.
Foreign visitors' card spending in Seoul jumped nearly 58 percent from a year earlier in the first nine months of 2026, driven by a record number of visitors, city government data showed Tuesday. Foreigners spent 8.84 trillion won ($6.57 billion) using credit and debit cards in Seoul from January to September, up 57.7 percent from the same period last year, according to the data. The figure has…
Foreign visitors spent a record $6.57 billion in Seoul during the first nine months of 2026, marking a nearly 58% surge in card-based spending compared to the same period last year, according to city government data released on Tuesday. The total foreign spending in Seoul has now surpassed the annual 2025 figure of 7.94 trillion won.
Shopping accounted for the largest share of foreign card spending at 46%, followed by medical and wellness services at 23.8%, food and beverages at 13.3%, and accommodation at 10.4%. Gangnam Ward led the spending with 29.6% of the total, closely followed by Jung Ward at 27.7%. Mapo Ward accounted for 7.1% of the foreign card spending.
The increase in spending was observed across various districts, with foreigners' card spending in Gangdong, Guro, Dongdaemun, and Seongdong wards more than doubling compared to the previous year. Notably, foreign spending grew by 57.2% on-year at major tourist spots such as Myeongdong, Gangnam, and Seongsu.
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