YEOSU — An island expo that opened amid doubts has become a turning point for tourism in this southern port city. Visitor numbers and consumer spending have both risen since the 2026 Yeosu World Island Expo began, bringing warmth to the local economy. Tourist traffic, once concentrated in the old downtown, is now spreading to Ungcheon, Soho, Eleven Bridge and the island districts. Yeosu tourism, which had been declining, has turned toward recovery with the expo as its starting point. The city government plans to extend the trend beyond a one-off boost, channeling it into longer-stay tourism and district-by-district development.
Major tourist sites in Yeosu drew a combined 2,165,923 visitors from Sept. 1 to Oct. 10 this year, the city said on the 23rd. The figure exceeds the 2.06 million average for September and October over the past five years. September visitors alone totaled 1,234,110, up 63.5% from the same month a year earlier. The flow continued into October, with 1.53 million people visiting Yeosu through the 17th.
From January through August, visitors to Yeosu's major tourist sites fell 5.8% from a year earlier. The trend reversed in September, when the island expo opened. A tourism market that had faced deep concerns over stagnation has entered a recovery phase on the back of the event.
Behind the increase lies not only the expo but also the city's district-based tourism strategy, officials said.
Since the current city administration took office, Yeosu has worked to move away from tourism centered on the old downtown and to develop content that draws on the character of each area. The Ungcheon and Soho district has been built around culture and the arts, the Hwayang and Eleven Bridge district around coastal scenery and leisure, and the island district around nature and hands-on experiences.
Tourist demand has shifted as a result. Visitor traffic that once clustered at a handful of sites in the old downtown is now broadening to the Ungcheon district, the Eleven Bridge district and the islands.
The city is also linking tourism resources across districts so that visitors move around Yeosu and stay longer rather than lingering at a single attraction. The strategy aims at both dispersing tourism and extending visits.
The rise in visitors has fed through to local spending. Card spending by out-of-town visitors reached 48.875 billion won ($34 million) in September, up 4.8 billion won, or 10.9%, from the same month last year. Spending at restaurants rose 25.9%, showing that the tourism rebound is reaching sales at local businesses.
"What matters is that tourist demand, which had been falling, is recovering with the island expo as a catalyst, and that tourist traffic is expanding into a variety of districts," said Jeong Il-kwon, head of the tourism division at Yeosu City. "We will continue to develop distinctive tourism content that spans the old downtown, the sea and the islands, and build a Yeosu that people want to visit again."
The city said it will keep analyzing visitor patterns and spending flows during the expo period. After the event ends, it plans to expand content that draws on the distinctive appeal of each area and to focus on promoting stays of three nights or more.