What happens to a neighborhood when BTS comes to town?

When BTS staged performances in central Seoul and Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, in March and April, the events triggered a measurable tourism surge.

International fans stayed longer and spent significantly more than other visitors from abroad, while foreign foot traffic and card spending in surrounding districts multiplied more than 30-fold within days, according to data released Wednesday by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute and the Korea Tourism Organization.

The analysis drew on two streams of data. The Korea Culture and Tourism Institute surveyed 1,871 attendees at the March 21 Gwanghwamun concert and 2,328 attendees across the three Goyang shows on April 9, 11 and 12. The KTO analyzed mobile carrier and credit card data from the administrative districts surrounding each venue.

Both shows drew an unusually high share of foreign attendees. International visitors accounted for 44.7 percent of Gwanghwamun respondents, alongside 19.5 percent long-term foreign residents and 35.8 percent Koreans. International visitors were 59.8 percent of those surveyed in Goyang, where Korean nationals made up 30.9 percent and long-term foreign residents 9.4 percent. The top nationalities differed sharply between the two venues: Japanese (23.1 percent), Filipinos (11.7 percent) and Americans (8.3 percent) led the Gwanghwamun crowd, while Goyang skewed toward Chinese (28.8 percent), followed by Japanese (12.6 percent), Taiwanese (8.6 percent), Filipinos (7.8 percent) and Russians (5 percent).

The concerts also functioned as a primary draw for inbound travel. At Gwanghwamun, 73.6 percent of international visitors said the BTS performance was the main purpose of their trip to Korea. Meanwhile, in Goyang, 95.4 percent of surveyed foreign visitors actually attended the concert, and 96 percent stayed overnight in Korea.

International fans who attended the Gwanghwamun show stayed in Korea for an average of 8.7 days and spent 3.53 million won ($2,400) per person, compared with 6.1 days and 2.45 million won recorded for the average inbound tourist in the first quarter of 2026.

Lodging accounted for the largest share of that spending at roughly 1.35 million won per person, followed by transportation (1.14 million won), shopping (580,000 won) and food and beverages (470,000 won).

Goyang concertgoers stayed 7.4 days and spent 2.91 million won on average, often combining the show with visits to "BTS The City Seoul" sites in Yongsan, Myeong-dong, Dongdaemun Design Plaza and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in the capital.

Their spending leaned more heavily toward travel logistics: airfare averaged 863,000 won per person, lodging 662,000 won, concert tickets 467,000 won, BTS-related shopping 303,000 won, food and beverages 169,000 won, general shopping 142,000 won and domestic transportation 109,000 won.

KTO's big-data analysis pointed to a similar pattern in surrounding districts. The comparison of Daehwa-dong itself, the administrative district hosting the Goyang Sports Complex, shows that foreign visitors to the neighborhood jumped from 1,397 recorded in the same period last year to 48,581 across the three concert days — a 3,377 percent increase. Card spending by foreign nationals rose from 8.9 million won to 337.8 million won, up 3,699 percent.

The "BTS effect" has not been confined to Korea. On Monday, El Paso County, Texas, honored the group with its Estimado Amigo (esteemed friend) award, citing the band's impact on local tourism and community engagement, according to Big Hit Music. The Commissioners Court also proclaimed May 2 and 3 — the dates of BTS's upcoming El Paso concerts — as "El Paso BTS Weekend."

The next domestic test will come in June, when BTS performs two nights at Busan Asiad Main Stadium on June 12 and 13. The shows will be the group's first in the city in nearly four years, coinciding with the 13th anniversary of the band's debut. Jimin and Jungkook are both Busan natives.

The Culture Ministry and the Visit Korea Year Committee will run a "Welcome Week" from June 1-15 to coincide with the Busan shows. The initiative will support four regional K-pop concerts, fund K-culture experience exhibitions at two concert-linked venues and continue developing Hallyu tourism routes anchored by K-drama and music-video filming locations.

Kang Jung-won, head of the Tourism Policy Office, said in a statement that the ministry plans to support travel patterns in which "the K-culture experience itself — music, film, drama, games — becomes the purpose of the trip" and translates into longer regional stays.