Foreign tourists in hanbok pose at Gyeongbok Palace, Seoul, on June 13. Yonhap

Foreign tourists who visited Seoul last year stayed an average six days and spent 2.84 million won ($2,058), the Seoul Tourism Organization said, Tuesday.

The survey, conducted from March to November 2023 on 1,600 respondents, revealed that tourists are now spending more time and money in the city compared to before the pandemic.

In 2019, the average stay was 5.1 days with spending at around 1.89 million won.

The increase in spending is attributed to a higher proportion of long-distance travelers from Europe and the U.S., as opposed to the previously dominant short-distance visits of Asian tourists.

Culinary experiences were a major attraction, with 97.4 percent of tourists engaging in food tourism. Popular tourist sites included palaces and historical sites (70.4 percent), landmarks and theme parks (54.6 percent) and parks, trails and resorts (49.3 percent).

Myeong-dong was the most visited area (85.9 percent), followed by Hongdae (52.8 percent) and Gangnam District (45.9 percent).

The satisfaction score for foreign tourists in Seoul has been on a steady rise, reaching 4.53 out of 5 last year, up from 4.34 in 2019 and 4.25 in 2018. The intention to revisit also increased to 4.61, compared to 4.39 in 2019.

This article is translated by generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.