South Korean retailers have announced regional investment plans, while tourism data show more foreign visitors entering outside the Seoul area and foreign visitor card spending in Busan topping 1 trillion won.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) reported 3.24 million foreign arrivals through airports outside the Seoul Capital Area in the first nine months of 2026, up 37.4% from a year earlier. Regional seaports handled another 1.58 million arrivals, a 14.5% increase. Together, those gateways accounted for 28.2% of arrivals. Foreign visitors’ tourism-related card spending across South Korea reached 15.845 trillion won through September, up 46.8% year over year, the ministry said.
Busan recorded 3,934,876 foreign visitors through September, up 47% year over year, according to the city’s tourism statistics. Foreign visitor card spending totaled 1.0162 trillion won, based on credit-card data from the Korea Tourism Data Lab cited by the city. The airport and seaport totals measure where visitors entered South Korea, not where they stayed or spent money.
Shinsegae Department Store plans to acquire Lotte Department Store’s Centum City branch and connect it with its existing Busan store in a development called Shinsegae Town. The company also plans a luxury hotel, offices and residences on a nearby site. Shinsegae said its existing Centum City store recorded more than 2 trillion won in sales in each year from 2023 through 2025. The company said the deal would improve its scale and operating efficiency, while Lotte could direct investment toward other growth locations and mall projects.
CJ OLIVE YOUNG plans to invest 123.8 billion won outside the Seoul metropolitan area in 2026 for store openings, renovations and logistics infrastructure. Of 78 large-format stores it plans to open or renovate this year, 43 are outside the capital region. It also plans to hire about 600 local employees. OLIVE YOUNG says the investment is intended to support local commercial districts and employment. The company reported that visitor numbers near three of its town-format stores rose by an average of 25% in the six months after opening.
The MCST said South Korea’s foreign visitor count passed the previous annual record of 18.94 million on Oct. 27. The estimate used a provisional 18.91 million arrivals through Oct. 26 and a 2026 daily average of about 64,000 visitors. The ministry forecast arrivals would exceed 20 million in the third week of November and set a 2026 target of 23 million.
