The Hidden Driver Behind Summer Tourism Stocks' Rebound: 10.7% Surge Led by Hyundai E&C

TS-30 at 108.39 in August, up 10.7% from previous month
Theme park sector surges 29.6%, but Hyundai E&C jumps 30% in one month
Of total 4.1 trillion won rise in market cap, Hyundai E&C accounts for about 3.2 trillion, or 77%
Excluding Hyundai E&C, remaining 29 companies' growth about 3.4%, similar to KOSPI's rise

The stock prices of tourism-related listed companies rebounded in August. However, a closer look at the stocks that drove the index's increase shows that this uptick cannot be explained by a recovery in tourism demand alone. The sharp rise in Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co., Ltd. (Hyundai E&C), fueled by expectations of nuclear power plant orders, had a significant impact.

Based on the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute's "Tourism Industry TS-30 Stock Trend No. 9 in 2026," the stock price trends of listed companies related to tourism in August were analyzed. The TS-30 rose 10.7% compared to the previous month, with the theme park sector showing the largest increase at 29.6%. It was estimated that Hyundai Engineering & Construction accounted for approximately 77% of the total market capitalization increase.

According to the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute on September 11, the TS-30 index, which consists of 30 listed companies in the tourism and related industries, stood at 108.39 at the end of August, up 10.7% from the end of the previous month. The travel sector rose by 7.1%, hotels by 8.0%, airlines and rental cars by 8.5%, and casinos by 1.2%. The theme park sector saw the largest increase at 29.6%. Duty-free and retail was the only sector to decline, falling 4.8%.

The theme park group includes not only E-World but also Hyundai Engineering & Construction, Korea Engineering Consultants Corp., Sigong Tech, and Kukbo Design. Among these, Hyundai Engineering & Construction’s stock price jumped from 94,600 won on July 31 to 123,300 won on August 31, a rise of 30.3% in one month.

The rise in Hyundai Engineering & Construction’s share price was driven more by expectations for nuclear power plant contracts than by tourism. On August 24, Hyundai Engineering & Construction announced that it had completed the basic design for the Fermi America large-scale nuclear power plant in the United States and was in discussions to conclude an EPC contract. The next day, its share price soared by 14.87%.

Based on the market capitalization and end-of-month index for the TS-30, the combined market capitalization of the 30 companies increased by about 4.1 trillion won between the end of July and the end of August. Of this increase, Hyundai Engineering & Construction accounted for approximately 3.2 trillion won, which is about 77% of the total. If Hyundai Engineering & Construction is excluded, the other 29 companies recorded a combined market capitalization increase of only about 3.4%, roughly in line with the KOSPI’s rise during the same period.

The overall stock market also rebounded, with the KOSPI gaining 3.40% during August. The Korea Culture and Tourism Institute cited both increased summer vacation demand and the stock market’s recovery as reasons for the rise in the TS-30.

Not all segments of the tourism industry recouped their July losses. The TS-30 dropped from 119.93 at the end of June to 97.94 at the end of July, and rebounded to 108.39 at the end of August, but this is still 9.6% below the level at the end of June. The duty-free and retail index fell from 226.43 in June to 133.02 in August, a 41.3% decrease, and the casino sector declined by 7.7% over the same period. In contrast, travel rose 4.3%, and airlines and rental cars climbed 2.0%.

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