Now In Korea
CreateTrip Predicts 2025 Inbound Tourism Trend 'K-Dive': Beauty and Medical Services Drive 40% Growth
Creatrip Team
a month ago
CreateTrip, a leading Korean inbound travel platform, analyzed 2025 visitor transactions and identified a deepening trend called 'K-Dive'—foreign tourists immersing in everyday Korean life. Travel patterns expanded from 'Dailycation' (following daily Korean routines) to 'Karecation' (self-care-focused trips), with beauty and medical services fueling growth. Overall transactions rose about 40% year-on-year, with beauty and medical categories accounting for roughly 51% of sales. Beauty and medical transactions grew ~71%, led by skin procedures (36%), vision correction (32%), and makeup (15%). Hair care (about 19%) and cultural experiences like hanbok (traditional clothing) and palace visits also remained popular. The Netflix animation 'K-Pop Demon Hunters' boosted demand for local experiences such as public bathhouse services and one-person scalp-cleansing shops (1인 세신샵), which surged in H2. Food tourism diversified—orders for eel and galbi jumped massively—while nationality-based preferences emerged: Taiwan and Japan favored medical/beauty, the U.S. and Singapore preferred premium hair care, and Hong Kong visitors focused on dining. Wellness services like IV therapy, health checkups, and traditional Korean medicine (한의원) saw strong growth, suggesting K-healthcare and wellness tourism will be a major inbound driver in 2026. CreateTrip plans to deepen services so visitors can experience living and self-care like Koreans.
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