*This content was translated by AI.
Domestic travel demand among Korean citizens, which had previously stagnated, is now showing renewed vitality, with clear growth trends across all indicators including travel experience rate, number of trips, and expenditure. In particular, travel demand that was previously concentrated in the capital region has been evenly distributed to local areas such as Daejeon and Gangwon, contributing to the revitalization of regional economies.
According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on the 30th, the Ministry, together with the Korea Culture & Tourism Institute, released the results of the "2025 National Travel Survey," which includes data on travel experience rates, number of trips, travel days, and travel expenditures of Korean citizens. The National Travel Survey is a state-approved statistical survey conducted annually.
Domestic travel expenditure reaches a record-high 39.5 trillion won... Demand shifts from the capital region to local areas
Survey results show that the domestic travel experience rate among Korean citizens rose to 97.0%, an increase of 1.6 percentage points (p) from the previous year. The number of domestic trips reached 300 million, domestic travel days totaled 470 million, and domestic travel expenditure amounted to 39.5 trillion won, marking increases of 3.1%, 5.4%, and 7.3% respectively compared to the previous year, indicating a broad-based recovery.
In other words, each Korean citizen traveled an average of 6.5 times in 2025, spent 10.2 days at travel destinations, and incurred total expenditures of 852,000 won.
Notably, the growth in travel days and expenditure for local area travel was more pronounced than for the capital region.
Looking at the growth rate of travel days by province and city, Daejeon (20.6%), Gangwon (10.6%), and Jeonbuk (9.3%) recorded higher increases compared to Seoul (2.9%) and Gyeonggi (5.5%). Additionally, among the 17th provinces and cities, domestic travel expenditure in the Daejeon region surged by 29.7% year-on-year to approximately 551 billion won, showing the largest increase.
Furthermore, expenditure increased year-on-year in other regions including Gyeongbuk (15.9%), Gwangju (14.7%), and Chungbuk (13.8%), confirming that domestic travel is shifting from a capital-region-centric model to a consumption-based travel model centered on local areas.
The proportion of Korean citizens undertaking domestic trips of one night or more rose from 40.0% in 2024 to 41.3% in 2025, an increase of 1.3 percentage points. This indicates an expansion in travel forms where people stay and consume in local areas rather than taking day trips, suggesting that citizens' travel is injecting vitality into local regions.
Meanwhile, the proportion of travelers using automobiles for domestic trips was the highest at 84.5%, though it decreased by 0.7 percentage points from the previous year. The proportions of those using chartered buses, tour buses, and airplanes each increased by 0.6 percentage points. This is interpreted as being due to an increase in the proportion of travelers purchasing tour agency products from 2.7% in 2024 to 2.8% in 2025, and a rise in the proportion purchasing all-inclusive package products including transportation and accommodation from 76.0% to 79.5%.
Kang Dong-jin, Director of the Tourism Policy Division at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, stated, "This survey result shows that domestic travel among Korean citizens is developing not only in terms of quantitative recovery but also in a direction that adds vitality to the regional economy." He added, "The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will continue to expand regional stay-type tourism content and infrastructure to enable citizens to stay longer and spend more, thereby fostering qualitative growth in domestic travel."
Detailed results of this survey can be accessed via the Tourist Information System and the Culture Center website.
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*This content was translated by AI.
