Loading...
Travel and tourism contributed 3.9% of South Korea's national GDP in 2024 — $73.0 billion of economic value and 1.4 million jobs. WTTC EIR 2025 ranks South Korea 42nd among 42 panel economies, with the forecast share rising to 4.2% in 2025 and 4.5% by 2035.
Hero metric
3.9% of national GDP (2024)
Source
WTTC EIR 2025
Last updated
2026-05-12
KEY FIGURES
Tourism share of GDP (2024)
Rank 42nd of 42
3.9%
Tourism share of GDP (2025F)
4.2%
Tourism GDP contribution (2024)
$73.0 billion
YoY growth (2024)
8.9%
10-year forecast (2035)
4.5%
Tourism jobs (2024)
5.0% of total employment
1.4 million
Key figures
TOURISM GDP SHARE — 5-YEAR TREND
WTTC EIR 2025 reports the 3.9% figure for South Korea as travel & tourism's *total* contribution — combining direct spend, supply-chain induced demand, and indirect employment effects.
WTTC's 2035 forecast lifts South Korea's tourism share of GDP to 4.5%, implying a CAGR of roughly 1.4% on share — a useful planning anchor for investors and ministries.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Tourism accounts for 3.9% of South Korea's national GDP in 2024 and 4.2% forecast for 2025 (WTTC EIR 2025).
Travel and tourism contributed $73.0 billion to South Korea's economy in 2024 according to WTTC EIR 2025.
Tourism GDP grew 8.9% year-over-year in 2024, and WTTC projects the share to reach 4.5% of GDP by 2035.
Tourism supports 1.4 million jobs in South Korea — 5.0% of total employment (WTTC EIR 2025).
South Korea ranks 42nd out of 42 WTTC-tracked economies on tourism share of GDP in 2024.
METHODOLOGY & SOURCE
Every numeric claim on this page is sourced from WTTC EIR 2025 (WTTC EIR 2025 — South Korea, p. 1). Last accessed 2026-05-11. No figures are estimated, modelled, or AI-generated — DataGreat's narrator is locked to WTTC values verbatim.
MORE SOUTH KOREA INTELLIGENCE
NEXT STEP
Your South Korea Tourism GDP report is ~30 seconds away.