Seoul draws record 1.61 mil. foreign tourists in July

Seoul drew a record 1.61 million foreign tourists in July, as the city’s tourism boom gathered pace and spending by overseas visitors surged far faster than arrivals.

The July total was 20.8 percent higher than a year earlier and 5.2 percent higher than in June, marking the highest monthly figure on record, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government.

Foreign tourists spent more than 1.07 trillion won ($773 million) via credit card in July, a 69.7 percent increase from the same month a year earlier.

Monthly card spending by foreign visitors has topped 1 trillion won for four consecutive months since April, while spending during the first seven months reached 6.688 trillion won, up 58.7 percent from a year earlier.

That growth has outpaced the 21.3 percent increase in visitor numbers during the same period, suggesting that tourists are spending more broadly as well as arriving in greater numbers.

Shopping accounted for 46.4 percent of spending from January through July, followed by medical and wellness services at 24.4 percent and food and beverages at 13.1 percent.

Medical tourism spe