Incheon

Incheon, South Korea, scores 71 on the CIRA Index of tourism resilience, #40 of 309 destinations. 27 of 29 measures come from public sources, with 88% confidence. Every grade below states its value, period and source.

Scores by each organisation's criteria

• CIRA Index: 71
• OECD: 69
• UN Tourism: 78
• UNDRR: 69

Strongest

• Nights in the three busiest months: 27.6 % of annual nights (Korea Tourism Organization (Korea Tourism Data Lab), 2024). At or below 30: grade 4/4.
• Domestic share of nights: 78.3 % of nights by residents of the same country (Incheon Tourism Organization (ITO) & Incheon Metropolitan City, 2024 Incheon Tourism Survey (2024 인천관광 실태조사), 2024). At or above 45: grade 4/4.
• Jobs in tourism industries: 5.4 % of employment in accommodation and food services (Statistics Korea (KOSIS), Regional Employment Survey (시도/산업별 취업자), 2024 (H1)). At or below 8: grade 4/4.

Weakest

• Average length of stay: 1.3 nights per visitor (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism / Incheon Tourism Organization, 2024). Below 1.8: grade 0/4.
• Wildfire and storm hazard: high (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 1/4.
• Flood hazard: high (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 1/4.

Korea, Rep. in the World Economic Forum Travel & Tourism Development Index

Korea, Rep. is #12 of 110 countries (4.9 of 7) in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026, which scores countries, not cities. Cities in countries with that WEF score average 66 on the CIRA Index; Incheon is 5 above that.

Every measure, by theme

Demand and seasonality: 54

• Nights in the three busiest months: 27.6 % of annual nights (Korea Tourism Organization (Korea Tourism Data Lab), 2024). At or below 30: grade 4/4. Source
• Domestic share of nights: 78.3 % of nights by residents of the same country (Incheon Tourism Organization (ITO) & Incheon Metropolitan City, 2024 Incheon Tourism Survey (2024 인천관광 실태조사), 2024). At or above 45: grade 4/4. Source
• Largest foreign market: 30 % of international arrivals or nights (country figure) (Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), 2024 Korea Tourism Statistics, 2024). Between 20 and 30: grade 2/4. Source
• Recovery against 2019: 93.5 % of 2019 visitor nights reached in the latest full year (country figure) (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism / Yanolja Research, 2024). Between 90 and 100: grade 2/4. Source
• Average length of stay: 1.3 nights per visitor (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism / Incheon Tourism Organization, 2024). Below 1.8: grade 0/4. Source
• Hotel bed or room occupancy: 52 % average annual occupancy (Lobin, Accommodation Market in Korea 2024: Incheon, 2024). Between 45 and 55: grade 1/4. Source

Economy and jobs: 88

• Jobs in tourism industries: 5.4 % of employment in accommodation and food services (Statistics Korea (KOSIS), Regional Employment Survey (시도/산업별 취업자), 2024 (H1)). At or below 8: grade 4/4. Source
• Unemployment rate: 3.3 % of the labour force (Gyeongin Regional Statistics Office (Statistics Korea / Ministry of Data and Statistics), May 2026 Incheon Employment Trends, May 2026). At or below 5: grade 4/4. Source
• Income per head: 52,423 GDP per capita, USD PPP (Statistics Korea, Regional Accounts / Regional GDP Statistics, 2024). Between 45,000 and 60,000: grade 3/4. Source
• Economic diversity: 73.1 % of employment outside accommodation, food, retail and transport (Statistics Korea (KOSIS), Regional Employment Survey (시도/산업별 취업자), 2024 (H1)). Between 72 and 80: grade 3/4. Source

Climate and hazards: 55

• Extreme heat days: 2 days a year at or above 35°C (last 5 full years) (ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2021–2025). At or below 5: grade 4/4. Source
• Tropical nights: 73.6 nights a year with a minimum at or above 20°C (last 5 full years) (ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2021–2025). Between 60 and 100: grade 1/4. Source
• Flood hazard: high (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 1/4. Source
• Wildfire and storm hazard: high (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 1/4. Source
• Country disaster risk: 2 INFORM Risk index, 0–10 (country figure) (INFORM Risk (European Commission JRC), INFORM Risk Mid 2026, 2026). At or below 2: grade 4/4. Source

Water and environment: 81

• Water scarcity: low (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 3/4. Source
• Wastewater safely treated: 97.4 % of domestic wastewater safely treated (Ministry of Environment / Statistics Korea (KOSIS), Sewerage Statistics, 2024). At or above 95: grade 4/4. Source
• Municipal waste per resident: 474.5 kg per resident per year (Gyeongin Regional Statistics Office / Ministry of Environment, Capital Area Regional Indicators (수도권 광역지표), 2024). Between 450 and 550: grade 2/4. Source
• Green space: 55.5 % of the urban area that is green or tree-covered (Korea Land and Geospatial InformatiX Corporation / Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport via KOSIS, 2020). At or above 40: grade 4/4. Source

Community and housing: 88

• Tourism intensity: not measured yet
• Cruise pressure: not measured yet
• Rent growth: 4.2 % change in rents over the last 12 months (Korea Real Estate Board via The Herald Business & ChosunBiz, Aug 2025–Aug 2026). Between 3 and 6: grade 3/4. Source
• Short-let density: 0.1 short-term rental listings per 100 dwellings (AirDNA & Statistics Korea (KOSIS Population and Housing Census), August 2026). At or below 0.5: grade 4/4. Source
• Resident support for tourism: not measured yet

Access and continuity: 79

• Access redundancy: 4 independent ways in: international airport, intercity rail, port, motorway (Incheon Metropolitan City & Incheon International Airport Corporation, 2024–2026). At or above 4: grade 4/4. Source
• Air traffic recovery: not measured yet
• Rail share of intercity access: not measured yet
• Rail traffic recovery: not measured yet
• Largest airline group share: not measured yet
• Air route concentration: not measured yet
• Early warning and emergency plan: An updated, tested plan that names visitors and tourism operators, with warnings in several languages (Ministry of the Interior and Safety & Incheon Metropolitan City, 2024–2026). Grade 4/4. Source
• Tourism crisis and recovery plan: A written destination crisis plan (Incheon Tourism Organization, 2023–2025). Grade 2/4. Source
• Government effectiveness: 91 World Bank WGI percentile rank, 0–100 (country figure) (World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025). At or above 80: grade 4/4. Source
• Travel advisory: 1 stricter of the US and Canadian government advisory for the country, 1 (normal precautions) to 4 (do not travel) (country figure) (US State Department and Government of Canada travel advisories, 2026-09-29). At or below 1: grade 4/4. Source
• Dedicated tourism funding: A promotion budget that depends each year on the general budget (Incheon Metropolitan City / Incheon Tourism Organization, 2024–2026). Grade 1/4. Source

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