The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST), along with the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute and the Korea Tourism Organization, has released the findings of an on-site survey and big data analysis of overseas fans who visited Korea to see BTS’s comeback show and Goyang concert.
The data showed that overseas fans who flew to Korea for the BTS comeback show at Gwanghwamun Plaza stayed for an average of 8.7 days, spending on average 3.53 million KRW (~ 2,400 USD). Compared to the average overseas tourist in the first quarter of 2026 (6.1 days, 2.45 million KRW), ARMYs stayed 1.4 times longer and spent 1.08 million KRW more.
Overseas fans who visited Korea to attend the 3-day opening shows of BTS’s 2026 world tour, ‘ARIRANG’, stayed for an average of 7.4 days and spent 2.91 million KRW (~ 2,000 USD). These fans also spent a significant amount of their stay participating in various ‘BTS The City Seoul‘ activities, visiting Yongsan, Myeong-dong, Dongdaemun Design Plaza, the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, and more.
The Goyang shows further revitalized the regional economy with a visitor surge of 48,581 over the 3-days, and overseas credit card spending rose to 337.8 million KRW (~ 230,000 USD) during the period.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism hopes to further capitalize on the “BTS effect” during the upcoming Busan concerts from June 12-13, encouraging fans to participate in ‘Welcome Week’ activities from June 1-15, including regional K-Pop concerts and K-culture exhibitions, themed tours visiting K-drama and K-Pop music video filming sites, and more.
Based on this and similar data, the Ministry plans to expand support and resources for extended stay tourism linked to K-culture.
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