Jeju Beaches Draw 1.6 Million Visitors This Year, Satisfaction Hits 89.7 Points

Visitors up 11% year over year
Survey covers four beaches, including Hamdeok and Hyeopjae
Improvements to public waters and price management next year

This year, the number of visitors to beaches in Jeju increased 11% from the previous year to more than 1,606,000, supported by an extended operating period and measures to manage prices for beach amenities. Visitor satisfaction also rose by 7.25 points. Reflecting feedback from the field, Jeju Special Self-Governing Province has begun developing follow-up measures, including adjustments to next year's operating period and improvements to the management of public waters.

More than 1.6 million people visited beaches in Jeju this year, and visitor satisfaction also increased. Reporter Park Changwon.

On November 10, Jeju Province held its second-half beach operations council meeting to review this year's results and discuss ways to improve beach operations in 2027.

The figures showed that cumulative visits to beaches across the province topped 1,606,000 this year, up about 158,000 from approximately 1,448,000 last year.

A visitor satisfaction survey covering four beaches—Hamdeok, Hyeopjae, Jungmun Saekdal, and Pyoseon, with two in each administrative city—recorded 89.71 points, up 7.25 points from 82.46 points last year.

The province believes the improvement in the scores was influenced by maintaining its "Three No's" policy to eliminate fatal accidents, unkind service, and price gouging, as well as introducing pet-friendly beaches, barrier-free beach operations, and artificial intelligence (AI)-based safety campaigns.

However, the survey sampled only four major beaches out of all designated beaches. Ensuring safety at non-designated beaches after the peak season, when visitors flock to the coast, and addressing differences between beaches remain ongoing tasks.

At the council meeting, local residents, including members of village associations, youth groups, and women's associations, as well as fire service and Coast Guard officials, raised specific issues requiring attention on the ground.

Participants recommended adjusting next year's beach operating periods and opening hours, keeping prices for amenities such as parasols stable, improving management of areas covered by permits for the occupation and use of public waters, expanding programs tailored to each beach, and spreading out the dates of local festivals.

Based on the feedback gathered at the meeting, the province plans to draw up detailed improvement measures, discuss them at a council meeting in the first half of next year, and finalize them for inclusion in the 2027 operating plan. The meeting also included an awards ceremony recognizing 16 people, including safety personnel, volunteer firefighters, and fire service officials, for their contributions to beach safety management and operations.

Kim Jongsu, director of Jeju Province's Marine and Fisheries Bureau, said, "This year, we opened the beaches earlier and extended their operating periods to meet tourism demand. Next year, we will improve operations in line with visitor demand and strengthen safety management to create beach environments where residents and tourists can visit with peace of mind."

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