The number of international arrivals visiting Korea between January and mid-November this year topped 15 million people for the first time ever.
The number of international tourists visiting Korea in 2016 will likely surpass 17 million people for the first time ever.
According to a joint-announcement from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) and the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) on Nov. 21, more than 15 million international arrivals entered Korea between January and mid-November this year.
According to the KTO, the number of international tourists entering Korea between January and October was 14.59 million people, 33.1 percent more than the same time last year, which greeted 10.96 million travelers. The number of yearly overseas tourists hit a record high of 14.2 million in 2014.
By continent-of-origin, the number of Asian passport-holders who visited Korea between January and October was 12,411,610, accounting for more than 83 percent of the total number of international entrants. The number of tourists from the Americas and Europe also increased during this time period. Tourists who came to Korea from North and South Americas numbered 0.94 million, while those from Europe numbered 0.79 million, showing 14.2 and 17.2 percent increases, respectively.
By country, mainland Chinese tourists made up the majority of tourists in Korea. Between January and October this year, a total of 7.01 million mainland Chinese tourists visited Korea, showing a 40-percent increase over their numbers last year, which saw 5.01 million Mandarin-speaking tourists on these shores.
A growing number of tourists from elsewhere in Asia also began visiting Korea more this year. Korea welcomed more than 1.88 million travelers from Japan, 0.70 million from Taiwan, 0.53 million from Hong Kong, and 0.24 million from Indonesia, all showing a 20 or even 56 percent rise over numbers from the same period last year.
The government has been undertaking various projects to diversify Korea’s tourist offerings and to attract more international travelers to Korea by focusing on Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, as well as mainland China.
To attract Muslim tourists, the government has launched programs to make it more convenient for them to visit, such as introducing Muslim-friendly restaurants and similar dietary classification systems.
Finally, in order to branch out beyond China and to attract more subsidized “incentive tours” from Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, the Korean government has lowered the number of required tourists to 500 and extended support in terms of gifts, tickets and welcome ceremonies.
By Yoon Sojung
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photo: Jeon Han Korea.net Photographer
arete@korea.kr
