SEOUL, May 23 (Yonhap) — Chinese tourists spend six times more than their Japanese counterparts when they visit the South Korean capital, a survey carried out by the Seoul Metropolitan Government showed Monday.
According to the Seoul Institute under the city administration, Chinese tourists visit Seoul 1.9 times on average but spend some 2.13 million won (US$1,800) when they are here. In comparison, Japanese visitors travel to Seoul 4.9 times on average but spend just 330,000 won.
The poll was conducted in December last year on 1,045 foreign tourists who were leaving through Incheon and Gimpo airports after their trip here.
Other tourists from Southeast Asian countries said they come to Seoul 1.9 times on average, spending about 790,000 won each time, the latest poll said.
The findings then showed that travelers from North America, Europe and Oceania spend 660,000 won each, with each person visiting an average of 3.1 times.
The report said each foreign tourist visiting Seoul spends 1.84 million won on average overall during his or her stay. Of the total, shopping accounted for the most with 1.06 million won, or 57.6 percent of the total.
By age, tourists who are in their 30s spend the most on shopping with outlays hitting 1.22 million won, trailed by people in their 20s with 1.18 million won. Travelers in the 40-something age group spend 920,000 won and those in their 50s and older use 650,000 won.
Female travelers spend more on shopping than males with each spending 1.14 million won, which is more than the 970,000 won that men spend on average.
The poll, meanwhile, showed that the more times tourists come to Seoul, the less likely they are to spend money here.
Among first-time visitors, total expenditures reached an average of 1.10 million won. This fell to around 800,000 for people who were here 4-6 times, and fell further to 780,000 won for people who were in the city more than seven times, according to the poll.