[2020 National Audit] "Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, COVID-19 Damage Estimated at Approximately 11 Trillion Won"

Estimated 10.7 Trillion KRW in Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Report
Tourism Sector Suffers Largest Damage of 9 Trillion KRW

Citizens visiting the observation deck of Incheon International Airport are watching the aircraft stopped at the airport. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] The damage scale in the domestic culture, sports, and tourism sectors due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) crisis has been estimated to reach 11 trillion won.

According to the work report submitted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to the National Assembly’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee on the 7th, the damage amount caused by the decrease in tourists and spectators, and cancellations of performances, exhibitions, and games up to the third quarter of this year was estimated at approximately 10.7 trillion won.

The tourism sector suffered the greatest damage. Consumption expenditure in the tourism and leisure sectors, including airlines, travel agencies, tourist accommodations, and duty-free shops, decreased by about 24.5 trillion won compared to the same period last year, and the damage scale in industries under the Tourism Promotion Act was estimated at about 9 trillion won.

The travel industry saw an 80% decrease in consumption expenditure in the travel sector until the 19th of last month, and with last year’s sales at 6.3 trillion won for the same period, the sales decrease up to the third quarter of this year was estimated at about 5 trillion won.

The hotel industry experienced cumulative damage of approximately 1.8406 trillion won due to cancellations of rooms and banquets from February 13 to September 13. The amusement facility industry’s sales decline was estimated at about 689.6 billion won, and the international conference industry suffered sales damage of 498.2 billion won. Casinos, including Kangwon Land, Paradise, and Grand Korea Leisure (GKL), incurred losses of 879 billion won due to temporary closures. This year, the number of foreign tourists was about 2.31 million as of the 27th of last month, a sharp decrease of 81.9% compared to the same period last year.

Damage in the cultural and artistic fields was estimated at 504.9 billion won. Museums, art galleries, and libraries suffered losses of 114.3 billion won from February to September due to decreased admission fees and convenience facility sales.

In the arts sector, damage from performances and the art market from January to August was estimated at 264.6 billion won, and employment damage for freelance artists was estimated at 126 billion won. The number of performances decreased by 35.8% compared to the same period last year, and ticket reservations dropped by 63.5%.

In the popular culture sector, the number of moviegoers in April was 970,000, marking a record low, and the cumulative number of viewers in the third quarter decreased by 78.7%, resulting in a sales drop of 994.8 billion won. Popular music performances were all canceled, totaling 433 events, with estimated damage of about 52.9 billion won.

In the sports sector, professional sports saw ticket revenue decrease by about 185.9 billion won up to August 23 this year due to league suspensions and reduced audience sizes. Baseball had the largest decrease at 106.2 billion won, followed by soccer (-59.1 billion won), golf (-17.1 billion won), and basketball and volleyball (-3.5 billion won). According to a survey of sports companies in the first half of the year, the average total sales decreased by 31.2%.