Incheon vs Seoul

Seoul leads Incheon by 4 points on the TRAIL Index, 75 to 71. Incheon grades better on 5 measures, Seoul on 6; the same 37 measures from public sources for both.

Scores by each organisation's criteria

• TRAIL Index: Incheon 71, Seoul 75
• OECD: Incheon 69, Seoul 73
• UN Tourism: Incheon 78, Seoul 78
• UNDRR: Incheon 69, Seoul 75

Theme by theme

• Demand and seasonality: Incheon 54, Seoul 75
• Economy and jobs: Incheon 88, Seoul 92
• Climate and hazards: Incheon 55, Seoul 60
• Water and environment: Incheon 81, Seoul 81
• Community and housing: Incheon 88, Seoul 58
• Access and continuity: Incheon 79, Seoul 83

Where Incheon is stronger

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Where Seoul is stronger

• Average length of stay: 6.1 nights per visitor (Seoul Tourism Organization & Seoul Metropolitan Government, '2023 Survey on Foreign Tourists Visiting Seoul', 2023). At or above 3.5: grade 4/4.
• Hotel bed or room occupancy: 79 % average annual occupancy (Cushman & Wakefield via The Korea JoongAng Daily, 2025). At or above 75: grade 4/4.
• Flood hazard: medium (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 2/4.
• Municipal waste per resident: 401.5 kg per resident per year (Gyeongin Regional Statistics Office via KOSIS, Per Capita Municipal Waste Generation, 2024). Between 350 and 450: grade 3/4.
• Tourism crisis and recovery plan: A plan with named owners, operators and recovery funding (Seoul Metropolitan Government & Seoul Tourism Organization (STO), 2025–2026). Grade 3/4.
• Dedicated tourism funding: A dedicated source such as a tourist tax or levy (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) & The Korea Herald, 2024–2026). Grade 2/4.

Country context (World Economic Forum)

• South Korea: #12 of 110 in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026
• South Korea: #12 of 110 in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026

Incheon in full · Seoul in full

The TRAIL Index ranking · City vs city · How the index works · TRAIL Studio · Put your city in the pilot