North Jeolla attracted nearly 50 million tourists through June: Report

The southwestern province of North Jeolla drew 47.3 million tourists, who stayed for an average of 2,922 minutes.

Jeonju hanok (traditional Korean houses) village in Jeonju, North Jeolla [JOONGANG ILBO]

The southwestern province of North Jeolla drew nearly 50 million tourists in the first half of this year, according to the provincial government on Friday.

Of them, some 260,000 were from overseas, marking a whopping 207 percent on-year increase. Americans and Chinese were reportedly the majority.

The data derives from the 2024 tourist report for January to June by the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), which found that 47.3 million people visited North Jeolla, a 2.4 percent on-year increase.

The province's food was the biggest motivator for 59 percent of the KTO survey's respondents. Other reasons to visit included lodging at 11 percent and culture and tourism at 9 percent.

Jeonju bibimbap is a staple dish in North Jeolla [JOONGANG ILBO]

Tourists in their 20s were the largest demographic at 19.1 percent, followed by those in their 50s at 19 percent, 30s at 15.7 percent and those in their 40s at 15.6 percent.

The average length of stay was 2,922 minutes, higher than the national average of 2,418 minutes. The average overnight stay lasted 2.79 days, with 7.95 million people spending at least one night in North Jeolla.

The cumulative money spent on local tourist credit cards in the province, however, dropped 0.7 percentage points compared to the previous year, totaling 365.3 billion won ($266.9 million).

BY LEE JIAN [lee.jian@joongang.co.kr]