Big Spenders in Jeju: Foreign Millennials & Gen Z Splurge on Accommodation, Food, and Shopping

Big Spenders in Jeju Travel: "Foreign Millennial & Gen Z Tourists"
Results of Jeju Millennials & Gen Z Tourism Development Plan Research Released
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It has been found that the spending power of foreign Millennials & Gen Z (born between the 1980s and 2010s) visiting Jeju is twice that of their domestic counterparts.

According to the results of the "Jeju Millennials & Gen Z Tourism Development Plan Research," commissioned by Jeju Special Self-Governing Province to the Korea Tourism and Food Service Culture Institute and released on October 7, foreign Millennials & Gen Z tourists visiting Jeju spend an average of about 1.35 million won (961.3 dollars) per person. This figure is 1.98 times higher than the average spending per domestic Millennials & Gen Z tourist, which is 670,000 won.

A Dolharubang sculpture wearing a mask during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In terms of spending categories, foreign Millennials & Gen Z allocated their expenditures in the order of accommodation, food and beverages, shopping, experiences, and transportation. For domestic Millennials & Gen Z, the order was food and beverages, transportation, experiences, shopping, and accommodation. Regarding transportation, foreign visitors mainly used taxis, buses, rental cars, and chartered buses, while most domestic visitors used rental cars or their own vehicles.

There was also a difference in the proportion of tourists: last year, 78.2% (approximately 1.5 million people) of foreign tourists who visited Jeju were Millennials & Gen Z, whereas the proportion among domestic tourists was 53.3%. This represents a slight decrease from the previous year's figure of 56.6%.

Jeju Province has analyzed that, for the development of tourism targeting Millennials & Gen Z, it is necessary to establish an integrated platform that connects travel, brand, and value-based consumption, as well as to strengthen promotional activities focused on content creation and social networking services (SNS). Based on the results of this study, the province plans to gradually implement action tasks to create a tailored tourism ecosystem for Millennials & Gen Z in connection with the 4th Tourism Promotion Plan.

The main areas visited by Millennials & Gen Z included Yeon-dong in Jeju City (Nuwemaru Street, Arboretum Theme Park), Aewol Coast (Aewol Coastal Road, Handam Coastal Walkway), Yongdam 2-dong (Jeongtteureu Airfield, Yongduam Rock), Jocheon Coast (Jo Ham Coastal Road, Dakmeoru Coast), and Nohyeong (Nexon Computer Museum, HAN Collection), in that order.