K-Tourism Platform Creatrip
‘Personal Color Diagnosis’ Gains Popularity
Makeup Shop Transactions Up 3100%
K-Beauty Select Shop Mecca Olive Young
Foreign Sales Up 660% Last Year
Plastic Surgery Clinics Increasing Around Hongdae and Myeongdong
Riding the wave of the Korean Wave and K-content fever, foreign visitors to Korea are expanding their medical tourism beyond plastic surgery and dermatology to include beauty tourism. Among beauty services that foreign tourists must try when visiting Korea, “personal color diagnosis” has gained a strong reputation, leading to a significant increase in transactions at makeup specialty shops in Seoul’s Hongdae and Myeongdong areas, as well as health and beauty (H&B) select shops like Olive Young.
On the 30th, CreateTrip, a K-tourism inbound (foreigners traveling domestically) platform, analyzed its tourism product transaction data to review the usage status of domestic plastic surgery, dermatology, and beauty services by foreign tourists in January and February this year. The results showed that the number of transactions at makeup specialty shops increased by 650% compared to the same period last year, and the transaction amount surged by an astonishing 3100%.
This phenomenon is attributed to the growing reputation of Korea’s personal color diagnosis service among foreign tourists. In fact, since the second half of last year, personal color diagnosis has become highly popular among foreign visitors, ranking first in both the number of transactions and transaction amount among all beauty services used.
Im Hyemin, CEO of CreateTrip, stated, “Korea’s personal color consultations offer meticulous diagnosis along with various makeup and fashion coaching, enabling visitors to maintain their own styling even after returning home. This has widely spread the perception among foreign tourists that it is a must-try service when visiting Korea.” She added, “Thanks to this, tourists are also drawn to Olive Young and cosmetic stores, and interest in Korean makeup and fashion overall is rapidly increasing.”
In the past, high-end cosmetic consumption was mainly driven by Chinese group tourists through department stores or duty-free shops. However, after COVID-19, as individual tourists increased instead of groups, the consumption pattern of cosmetics has also changed. Foreign tourists are increasingly spending at beauty select shops where they can directly experience cost-effective K-beauty products.
In fact, Olive Young’s foreign sales last year increased by more than 660% compared to the previous year. Especially, the foreigner-specialized store “Olive Young Myeongdong Town,” which opened in November last year, has become very popular, attracting about 3,000 visitors daily as of January this year.
Many foreign tourists who experienced personal color diagnosis services in Korea also engage in direct overseas purchasing of Korean cosmetics and beauty products after returning to their home countries. According to Olive Young, the number of global mall members, which was around 30,000 in 2019, increased to 1.2 million last year. The global mall, which boosted overseas visitor inflow through SNS platforms like Instagram and TikTok, saw sales increase by 80% and order volume rise by 69% compared to the same period last year.
Meanwhile, based on data from January to February this year, plastic surgery clinics ranked first in both the number of transactions and transaction amount among hospitals and clinics offering reservation services on CreateTrip. The number of transactions and transaction amount increased by approximately 220% and 270%, respectively, compared to the same period last year. Tourists mainly sought so-called “petit procedures” such as fillers, Botox, and lifting, which involve short treatment and recovery times.
CEO Im analyzed, “In the past, foreign tourists mainly concentrated in Gangnam to use plastic surgery and dermatology clinics, but recently, while using these hospitals and clinics, tourists tend to flock more to areas rich in makeup shops, Olive Young stores, famous restaurants, and entertainment options like Hongdae and Myeongdong.”
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
