--- title: "September–October: Record Foreign Tourists Meet Accommodation Crisis" description: "Korean tourism's ironic dilemma" published: 2025-08-13T00:00:00+00:00 author: "ONDA 편집팀" category: "Insights" image: "https://zqcfqfqgiyckyhazcfrk.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/blog-images/webflow/6316f3f75130788ec2d762dd/6896c3412a9ca83ebc416a59_onda.me_.png" canonical: https://global.onda.me/en/blog?slug=9-10weol-yeogdaegeub-oegugin-gwangwanggaeggwa-sugso-daerani-dongsie-onda locale: en --- # September–October: Record Foreign Tourists Meet Accommodation Crisis Today we're covering an absurd paradox about to hit Korean hospitality. On one side, a record-breaking surge in inbound tourists. On the other, regulatory bombs set to wipe out a huge chunk of accommodation supply. The timing is almost too perfect to believe. Peak demand, shrinking inventory — at the exact same moment. ### **Record-breaking tourist influx** According to the Korea Tourism Organization and multiple reports, [foreign arrivals this year are expected to surpass 20 million for the first time ever](http://realty.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2025/08/01/2025080101909.html). January–June alone brought 8.83 million visitors — the highest first-half figure on record. That's already approaching the all-time annual high of 17.5 million set in 2019. The second half looks even stronger. Amid the global buzz around *K-pop Demon Hunters*, Korea's about to enter peak season with a packed lineup of international events. The kicker? The government just announced a visa bombshell. From September 29 through June 30 next year, Chinese group tourists can enter visa-free. China's already the #1 source market with 2.53 million visitors in H1 2025 — still 10% below 2019 H1. But with this visa waiver, China's expected to recover and likely exceed pre-pandemic levels. Bank of Korea analysis says ["an additional 1 million Chinese group tourists could boost GDP by 0.08 percentage points"](https://www.sedaily.com/NewsView/2GWIT0255B/GD0101) — substantial economic upside. The industry is buzzing. Hotel Shilla already ramped up its "Shilla Rewards" membership — mainland China sign-ups surged 232.5% YoY in H1, Hong Kong +153%, Taiwan +88%. ### **The problem? Two bombs going off at once** Here's where it gets messy: accommodation supply is about to shrink, just as demand explodes. Two major crackdowns are hitting simultaneously. ![Source: Generative AI](https://zqcfqfqgiyckyhazcfrk.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/blog-images/webflow/6316f3f75130788ec2d762dd/6896d32593f954a14f3b37d4_ChatGPT_Image_2025_8_9_01_42_39.png) **First: the Airbnb purge.** As of end-2024, [~72,400 Korean listings on Airbnb](https://www.hankyung.com/article/2025072128357). About half — ~36,000 — are home-sharing (apartments, etc.). Of those, only 7,198 are legally registered under the Foreign Tourist Accommodation License. That means **~29,000 listings (~80% of home-sharing inventory) are operating illegally**. Last year, Airbnb said it would stop onboarding new unlicensed hosts and gave existing ones a one-year grace period to get legal. That deadline is **October 2025**. Unregistered home-sharing units are about to be delisted en masse — and most are concentrated in Seoul and the greater metro area where foreign tourists stay. **Second: the Residence-Hotel Facility problem.** These properties could help ease the shortage — but they're stuck in regulatory limbo. By October 2025, [~90,000 Residence-Hotel units nationwide will become illegal unless owners act](https://www.mk.co.kr/news/realestate/11384111). Many were marketed as dual-use (accommodation + residence), but under current law, owners must either register as a lodging business *or* convert the property to officetels. If they don't, the building is deemed illegal and hit with annual fines up to 10% of assessed value. As of June, out of 141,000 completed units: - 80,000 registered as lodging - 18,000 converted to officetel use - **43,000 still in limbo** — with weeks left on the clock. ### **Supply–demand mismatch** So here's what we're looking at: demand hitting all-time highs, while supply (1) actively shrinks on Airbnb, and (2) gets blocked from scaling via Residence-Hotels. That's why experts calling for 20 million+ arrivals this year are also urgently calling for home-sharing deregulation. Especially with the visa-free policy for Chinese group tours kicking in, the accommodation crunch could get severe fast. Worst-case scenario? We repeat the pre-COVID pattern. Chinese tourists couldn't find rooms in Seoul, got bused to far-flung Gyeonggi Province motels, then bused back to the city daily. That kind of hassle doesn't inspire return visits. ### **The reckoning is coming** Bottom line: we're heading for an **accommodation crisis this fall**. Peak foreign arrivals meet simultaneous supply shocks from Airbnb delistings and Residence-Hotel enforcement. ![Source: Unsplash](https://zqcfqfqgiyckyhazcfrk.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/blog-images/webflow/6316f3f75130788ec2d762dd/6896d2fd0b4554eddffb3fbf_yousef-alfuhigi-bMIlyKZHKMY-unsplash.jpg) This isn't just a hospitality problem. If tourists can't find rooms and skip Korea for Japan or Taiwan instead, it undermines the entire tourism sector's competitiveness. The visa-free policy becomes a hollow gesture if there's nowhere to stay. **Winners:** Traditional hotels and compliant Residence-Hotel operators. Prices and occupancy both go up when supply tightens and demand surges. **Losers:** Budget travelers. Fewer options, higher rates. What do you think — is the "accommodation crisis" really coming this fall? --- ⚠️ All rights reserved. Cite this piece as 'ONDA (온다)' when quoting.