Many hotel projects are under way in Seoul amidst steady rise in tourist arrivals mainly from China and Japan. Meticulous planning with the help of tourism authorities is necessary to avoid a glut in accommodation facilities. Most important is securing middle-class hotels wanted by budget-conscious individual tourists.

There are 140 hotels in the capital city with a combined capacity of 24,000 rooms. Seoul City Hall estimates that the number of foreign tourists visiting Korea’s capital city will exceed the 10 million mark next year. In that case, there will be a net shortage of 27,000 hotel rooms. Already some tourists end up being accommodated at the dark, shabby, small motels located in back alleys, which mostly do not have an open lobby or dining facilities.

While preparing for the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea and Japan a decade ago, tourism authorities encouraged motel owners to improve their facilities, offering cheap loans. Some upgrading was made but things largely remained the same afterwards. Seoul is famous for the large number of motels in the business district as well as in the suburbs, but their clandestine atmosphere to accommodate daytime users is not suitable for foreign tourists. Some places show reluctance to accepting tourists as it is more profitable to offer rooms for local visitors on hourly basis.

A new city drive is called for to upgrade the facilities of those numerous motels so they can be readily available for foreign tourists. Surveys show that revisiting tourists want rooms charging around $100 per night. Knowing about the general safety and convenience of the city, tourists do not insist on first-class hotels.

Thirty-two hotels are being built in 16 districts of Seoul since city authorities eased construction regulations last May. Remodeling of existing buildings for conversion to hotels in the central area is to significantly increase tourist accommodation facilities. A joint committee made up of city officials, construction business representatives and designers is working out ways to give tax benefits to hotel projects and make it possible to build more rooms on a given land space.

Now an oversupply is feared in a few years, which will be as bad as a shortage. City and tourism authorities need to make careful long-term projections of both local and international demand for hotel rooms and provide accurate data for existing and potential hotel enterprises.