Seoul Tops Tokyo and Phuket to Claim No. 1 Spot as "Best Asian Leisure Destination"

Seoul Wins 2025 Global Traveler Award
Seoul Tourism Organization: "Consistently Recognized by Travelers Worldwide"

Seoul has ranked first in the "Best Asian Leisure Destination" category at the 2025 Leisure Lifestyle Awards organized by Global Traveler, a leading U.S. travel magazine.

The Seoul Tourism Organization announced on May 14 that Seoul has been honored with this award for the third consecutive year, having placed first in 2023, second in 2024, and reclaiming the top spot in 2025.

Global Traveler Best Asian Leisure Destination Award Trophy. Provided by Seoul Tourism Organization.

Global Traveler is a premier U.S. MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) media outlet with a primary readership of business travelers worldwide. The magazine boasts 1.1 million subscribers and over 4.7 million monthly website visits. The awards are determined by votes from readers around the globe, selecting the best cities in the travel and leisure sector.

In the 2025 Asian Leisure Destination category, Seoul took first place, followed by Taipei, Taiwan (second), Tokyo, Japan (third), Phuket, Thailand (fourth), and Singapore (fifth). The Seoul Tourism Organization emphasized that this result demonstrates Seoul's strong competitiveness among Asian cities in various leisure content areas, including Korean Wave content, shopping and gastronomy, hiking tourism, night tourism, and festivals.

Under the slogan "Seoul: Your complete MICE City," the Seoul Tourism Organization has been actively promoting Seoul's appeal as a "bleisure" destination, combining business and leisure. In particular, the organization highlighted that consistent global marketing efforts focused on five key districts?Yeouido, Yongsan, Seocho·Gangnam·Songpa, Jongno·Jung-gu, and Seongsu·Gwangjin·Dongdaemun?played a significant role in winning the award.

Gil Kiyeon, CEO of the Seoul Tourism Organization, stated, "Seoul being once again selected as Asia's top leisure destination means that travelers around the world continue to recognize the city's appeal. It is especially encouraging that Seoul has ranked at the top for three consecutive years, and we will continue our efforts to widely promote the charm of 'Seoul, a city where business and leisure coexist' to the world."

Meanwhile, in January, Seoul was also ranked first in TripAdvisor's list of "Best Cities for Solo Travelers," further elevating the city's status among global travelers.

*Bleisure: A portmanteau of Business and Leisure, referring to the practice of enjoying leisure time during a business trip or adding personal vacation days before or after a business trip.