Regional Airports Hit Record High in Foreign Arrivals, Solidify Role as Regional Tourism Platforms

1.57 Million Foreign Arrivals at Regional Airports from January to May
Expansion of International Routes and Innovative Airport Services Drive Growth

Korea Airports Corporation announced on July 14 that the number of foreign arrivals through regional airports from January to May this year reached a record high of 1.57 million people.

From January to May this year, the total number of foreign arrivals using Gimhae, Jeju, Daegu, Cheongju, and Yangyang airports was 1.57 million, a 42% increase compared to the previous year. This growth rate is 2.4 times higher than that of metropolitan area airports (6.15 million, up 17% year-on-year) and significantly exceeds the pre-pandemic 2019 figure of 1.11 million, indicating that the number of foreign tourists visiting regional areas is rapidly expanding.

The corporation explained that this achievement is the result of fostering regional airports as gateways to local tourism, while simultaneously expanding international routes, generating inbound demand, and improving guidance systems tailored to foreign visitors as part of the government's "Era of 30 Million Inbound Tourists" initiative.

The corporation participated in major international aviation events such as overseas route development meetings and slot conferences to discover new routes and held ongoing customized consultations with overseas airport operators and foreign airlines. As a result, during this year's summer season, six airlines—including Starlux Airlines, Spring Airlines, and Ruili Airlines—launched 12 new international routes, while ten airlines increased flights on 26 routes.

The corporation also strengthened support for the expansion of routes. This included: ▲ implementing an airline ticket discount promotion with the global online travel agency Trip.com targeting Japan's longest holiday period, "Golden Week"; ▲ supporting the overseas online marketing costs of airlines; ▲ providing incentives to travel agencies that attract inbound passengers to regional airports; and ▲ offering reduced airport facility usage fees for airlines launching new routes. In particular, concentrated promotions and incentives at Cheongju, Daegu, and Yangyang airports led to a 42.1% year-on-year increase in foreign arrivals.

The airport user environment was also greatly improved with a focus on foreign travelers. The corporation reorganized the multilingual guidance systems inside and outside the airports to enhance visibility and understanding for foreign users, and, starting this year, expanded the reservation taxi boarding zones to Gimpo International Airport, as well as Gimhae, Cheongju, and Daegu airports. This has laid a foundation for foreign tourists to conveniently access regional destinations upon arrival at the airport.

Heo Juhui, Head of the Glocal Business Division at Korea Airports Corporation, stated, "Regional airports are the starting point of regional tourism and serve as a key infrastructure linking local economies. Going forward, we will continue to expand the global air network and further enhance customer-centric services, while connecting with unique local tourism resources to create airports throughout Korea where foreign tourists can conveniently visit and stay."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.