Foreign Tourists Visiting Korea Also Interested... "Ordering Delivery Food, Taking Profile Photos"

Analysis of Travel Information Service 'CreateTrip' in the First Half of the Year
Experiences Similar to Daily Life of Domestic Travelers Gain Popularity
Impact of the Spread of K-Content Such as Dramas and Movies

As K-content such as dramas and movies gain popularity overseas, a travel trend is spreading where foreign tourists visiting Korea seek to experience the daily lives of locals firsthand. Interest in activities such as ordering Korean-preferred menus through delivery food and taking ID or profile photos has noticeably increased.

Photo by Clipart Korea

According to an analysis of search keywords, search volume, transaction counts, and transaction amounts by foreign users in the first half of this year conducted by the portal service 'Creatrip,' which provides various travel information to foreign tourists visiting Korea, the products with the highest increase in search volume during this period were 'Hanbok' and 'Photo Studio.' These products ranked first and second in search volume growth rates in Taiwan and English-speaking countries, respectively. In terms of transaction count trends, Hanbok and photo studios also rose to first and second place with increases of 540% and 213%, respectively, compared to the second half of last year.

Korean photo studios have established themselves as popular experience products among foreign tourists due to their excellent shooting and retouching techniques. Looking at Creatrip’s partner companies, there are various types including basic and color ID photos, profile photos, wedding photos, and friendship photos. A Creatrip representative explained, "It can be interpreted that tourists are evolving from visiting essential travel destinations frequently visited by foreigners, such as Gyeongbokgung Palace or Myeongdong, to coming to Korea to experience the same things as Koreans."

Interest in delivery order services among foreigners has also grown. In the first half of this year, the search volume directly mentioning the keyword 'delivery' in Creatrip’s search bar increased by 165% compared to the second half of last year, and delivery transaction counts rose by 175%. This is attributed to easy exposure to delivery food culture through K-content such as dramas and YouTube, as well as Korean social networking services (SNS). In the past, traditional Korean dishes like bibimbap and bulgogi were widely known, but now ordering and eating delivery foods frequently consumed by Koreans in daily life, such as chicken and Chinese cuisine, has become a trend, the company explained.

Additionally, beauty services known as K-beauty have emerged as notable experience products. Based on transaction amounts in the first half of this year, K-beauty accounted for 22% of the products experienced by foreign tourists. The places foreign tourists showed interest in included not only plastic surgery clinics, dermatology clinics, and esthetics but also hair salons, eyebrow and eyelash procedures, and personal color diagnosis?beauty services popular among Korean women.

Lim Hyemin, CEO of Creatrip, stated, "The number of tourists visiting Korea, which had significantly decreased due to COVID-19, is gradually recovering to pre-pandemic levels, and this trend can also be confirmed through Creatrip usage analysis. Since many foreign tourists are following Korean trends, we plan to continue introducing various services to provide them with travel experiences similar to those of Koreans."