The number of foreign tourists visiting Daegu last year was 360,000, more than four times higher than the previous year. The strengthening of customized marketing activities to attract foreign tourists and the improvement of the service environment for tourism are believed to have been effective.
According to the Daegu Metropolitan Government on the 7th, the number of foreign tourists (360,000) who visited Daegu last year increased by 280,000 from the previous year (80,000). As a result, the number of foreign tourists recovered by 51 percent year-on-year compared to 2019 (710,000).
By country, Taiwan had the largest number of tourists with 146,000, followed by Gumi Province (72,000), Southeast Asia (55,000), Japan (32,000), and China (26,000).
The number of foreign tourists entering Daegu International Airport also increased significantly. According to the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute, the number of foreign tourists entering Daegu International Airport reached 91,000 last year, up 15 times from 6,000 last year.
The significant increase in the number of foreign tourists visiting Daegu is attributed to the increase in new direct flights at Daegu International Airport. As a result, it is analyzed that the active promotion of Daegu tourism through overseas media and local broadcasting programs was effective. In addition, attracting tourists from special purpose groups abroad and developing products centered on policies to diversify overseas markets such as Taiwan and Southeast Asia are also cited as the reasons.
Last year, Daegu City made efforts to improve customized tourism information services such as designation of restaurants specializing in foreign tourists (67 places), improvement of transportation base information, support for improving the environment of tourist accommodation facilities, and operation of Daegu Travel Stores (20 places) to minimize complaints, distrust, and inconvenience of individual foreign travelers.
The Daegu Metropolitan Government has set a target of 430,000 foreign tourists this year. This year, the Daegu Metropolitan Government is also expected to gain momentum in designating the special tourist zone for the first time in Daegu as it is expected to meet the requirement of more than 100,000 foreign tourists to be designated as Dongseong-ro Special Tourist Zone.