Seoul - the city of the future
Tourism Impacts
Intended Impacts
01
Boosting local economy and job creation
In 2017, Seoul received approximately 15 millions foreign visitors, spending 29.8 trillion won (~ USD 27 billion) in the city. Tourism created more than 606.000 new jobs. In comparison with the year 2002 (hosting World Cup), tourist arrivals had tripled, which making travel & tourism sector become a major industry in Seoul.
02
the spread of Korean culture
The massive development of Seoul as a tourist destination is closely related to the raising popularity of K-pop, Korean movies and the Korean Wave globally. Many young people around the world, especially in the East Asia and the Pacific region are inspired by the unique South Korean culture.
03
Improvement of infrastructure
Seoul significantly increases its role as an all-in-one hub for tourism in 2011 as two new high-speed rail services are added to the South Korean capital’s already extensive rail network. The new underground line was built in the same year to deliver passengers from Incheon airport to Seoul city center in 40 minutes, reduce travelling time by half. Massive convention centers were built on the south side of the river in Gangnam district. In 2017, free Wi-Fi is installed in every public place
including moving buses and subways.
04
The breakthrough of domestic quality products
Shopping tourism contribute a major proportion in Seoul’s tourism industry. Millions of foreign visitors come to Seoul just to buy products that they could not find elsewhere. Mega high-tech corporations leading by Samsung are constantly launching state of the art technology products to fulfill the market demands. High quality herbal medication and cosmetic products are also continually gaining their global fame and trust.
05
Encouraging business to adopt sustainable practices
Since co-hosting World Cup 2002 with Japan, tourism has played an important part in the economy of Seoul. Thus, forcing the Seoul Metropolitan Government to act and improve legal framework as well as implement policies and incentive to encourage this industry to develop in sustainable manner.
Unintended Impacts
01/
Economic uncertainties
China and Japan are the two countries that send the most visitors to Seoul (60% of total foreign visitors), are expected to face another slow growing period. Seoul’s tourism has been dependent heavily on these 2 markets in recent years. Therefore, some setbacks in this year and in the coming years are unavoidable.
03/
Congestion & Pollution
Although Seoul’s government has initiated many programmers to enhance the city’s sustainability such as Cheonggyecheon Stream Restoration, electric buses, green building developments, etc., the high number of visitors visiting the city each year unfortunately negatively impact its environment such as causing air and water pollution, loss of green space. Traffic congestion is also a considerable consequence of the huge tourist flow to the city.
05/
The ecology of “dirt-cheap tourism”
Korean travel agencies have no choice but to give Chinese travel agencies money, or the “poll tax,” because there are so many Korean companies competing to receive Chinese tourists. So in order to make even a little profit, the Korean companies have to save money, which forces them to look for the cheapest hotels, usually outside of Seoul, and restaurants to accommodate the travelers. Korean travel agencies tend to bring the tourists to shopping venues with which they have special contracts to get commission. In the case of ginseng, they can get a commission of 30 percent – a very unethical way of doing business.
02/
Higher living cost
As the city modernizes fast and its infrastructure and service improve significantly, taxes and fees have gone up. The city has become more densely populated than ever, which makes real estate so pricey. The local residents are finding it hard to afford their daily needs.
04/
Local community disturbance
It is inevitable that tourists cause some disturbance to the everyday life of local people. The residents of Seoul have been complaining about invasion of privacy, excessive noise, and littering due to the throngs of tourists visiting their territories. Residents reported that some tourists wandered into private homes without permission, or urinated in the narrow alleyway because of lack of public bathrooms.