Key facts
- South Korea's tourism balance recorded a deficit of $50.3 million in July.
- This follows four consecutive months of surplus, ending in June.
- Overseas spending by South Koreans in July was $2.67 billion.
- Foreign visitor spending in South Korea in July was $2.62 billion.
- The tourism balance had been in deficit for 72 months prior to March 2023.
SEOUL, Sept. 27 (Yonhap) -- South 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 US$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 South Koreans overseas reached $2.67 billion in July, exceeding the $2.62 billion spent by foreign visitors in the country, the data showed. South Korea's tourism balance had remained in the red for 72 consecutive months, since March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic began to disrupt international travel. It returned to a surplus in March this year and stayed in the black through June before slipping back into a deficit in July. Market watchers attributed the improvement in the tourism balance earlier this year in part to a series of major K-pop events by supergroup BTS that drew foreign visitors to South Korea while calling for concerted efforts to develop attractive cultural content to draw more foreign travelers.