Seoul and Barcelona, global tourist destinations, will jointly seek a solution to their common problem of "overtourism," described as residents' inconvenience due to too many visitors, at a forum in the South Korean capital later this week, a city official here said Wednesday.
"The two sides will discuss the issue by studying cases of Seoul, Barcelona and Indonesia at the 2017 Seoul International Fair and Sustainable Tourism Forum that will open on Thursday," the official said.
According to the Seoul city, the world tourism industry is growing 4 to 5 percent every year in terms of the number of tourists, and makes up about 10 percent of the world's gross domestic product. Last year, the number of tourists around the world reached 1.23 billion.