The number of tourist hotels in Seoul decreased for the first time last year due to the outbreaks of COVID-19, government data showed Wednesday.

As of the end of 2020, there were 331 tourist hotels in Seoul, down two from a year ago, according to the data from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

It was the first such decline in the capital since records began in 2008. The figure had steadily increased in the previous years, rising from 125 in 2008 to 151 in 2012, 211 in 2014, 308 in 2017, 330 in 2018 and 333 in 2019.

Last year, the number of five-star tourist hotels in Seoul decreased by one, while four-star, three-star and two-star hotels were reduced by six, 14 and seven, respectively. The number of one-star hotels remained unchanged, and the number of unrated hotels increased by 26.

"Eighty percent of hotel customers in Seoul are foreigners and most of them are tourists and business visitors," an industry executive said.

"The coronavirus pandemic decelerated business demand, such as international conferences and meetings, leaving many tourist hotels, except conglomerates-owned ones, unable to stay afloat," the executive said.

Kyungnam Tourist Hotel in eastern Seoul was closed, and Center Mark Hotel in downtown Seoul suspended operations last year.

This year, five-star luxury hotels in southern Seoul, such as Sheraton Seoul Palace Gangnam Hotel and Le Meridien Hotel, successively went out of business. Millennium Hilton Seoul, which boasts a history of 38 years, is said to be up for sale on condition of business closure. It has been known that these hotels will be rebuilt into high-profit residential or office buildings.

Another industry official said that many Seoul hotels located in busy commercial areas can be seen as attractive to real estate developers.

"Hotel buyers may be tempted to choose business closures because their continued operations will generate huge fixed costs, such personnel expenses," he said. (Yonhap)