Sokcho City sees tourism boost from Waterbomb festival

Big data analysis conducted by Sokcho City and the Korea University Digital Innovation Research Center reveals that the ‘Waterbomb Sokcho’ music festival has successfully driven stay-over tourism and increased local spending.

On the day of the event, held at Hanwha Resort Seorak Sorano, 23,981 visitors were recorded, with non-locals accounting for 85.2% of the total. A significant majority of these visitors (74.6%) resided in the Seoul metropolitan area, primarily within the 20–40 age demographic.

Data shows that 61.4% of non-local visitors remained in Sokcho at least two hours after the performance ended. This trend contributed to an increase in average stay duration across all visitor types and boosted local commercial sales to approximately 6.49 billion won on the event day. Notably, late-night sales between 11:00 PM and 2:00 AM rose by 3.9% compared to previous periods, indicating that the festival effectively stimulated nighttime consumption.

Sokcho Mayor Lee Byeong-seon stated that the festival demonstrates the potential to link large-scale performances with stay-over tourism. The city plans to strengthen connections between performances, transportation, accommodation, and local attractions to transform single-day event attendance into extended travel experiences.