[ad_1]
South Korea will prepare a policy package aimed at attracting foreign tourists in the first half of the year to boost domestic spending, Vice Finance Minister Kim Byeong-hwan said on Monday.
“The number of foreign tourists visiting South Korea have been growing and the government will prepare measures to ensure the trend continues as a driver of a recovery in domestic demand,” Kim said.
He noted that Seoul will host a K-beauty festival for a month in June, but did not elaborate on other policy measures.
In 2023, 11 million foreigners visited South Korea, up from 3.2 million in 2022 and 967,000 in 2021, according to the finance ministry, thanks to increases in the number of Chinese and Japanese tourists. That compares with the pre-pandemic level of 17.5 million in 2019.
Drawing more environmental and adventure travelers is part of the government’s plan to increase overall tourism in Brazil, which is low in comparison with other countries. Tourism contributes less than 8% of Brazil’s GDP, compared to more than 20% in Spain, Portugal or the Dominican Republic, he said. Sabino is working on expanding flights to Brazil and will be at the Seatrade Cruise Global fair in Miami next week to discuss increasing the number of cruise ship visits to Brazilian ports.
In Asia’s fourth-largest economy, consumer spending has been weakening due to interest rates staying at elevated levels for a prolonged period, raising concerns about the pace of economic recovery.
Source link
