Foreign tourists to top 8 million for 1st time

By Lee Hyo-sik

The number of foreign visitors to Korea is expected to top the 8-million mark for the first time by the end of the month.

The government has set the aim of drawing 8.5 million inbound foreign visitors in total for 2010, up from 7.82 million last year. If the current trend continues, it is expected that Asia’s fourth largest economy will easily achieve the target.

For the first nine months of the year the number of foreign visitors stood at 6.51 million, up 12.7 percent from 5.78 million in the same period last year, according to the Korea Tourism Organization.

With a massive influx of Chinese and Japanese coming here during their respective national holidays in October, the cumulative figure is projected to exceed 8 million by the end of November.

Another major attraction is the shopping. The entire nation has become a popular shopping center over the past few years as it is now more affordable for Chinese and Japanese to buy goods and services here due to the strengthening of their currencies against the Korean won.

As for Japanese tourists in particular, the number traveling here surpassed 3 million in 2009 for the first time marking 3.03 million.

South Korea has also emerged as a popular tourism destination catering to the Chinese and other Asians, with its pop culture, or “hallyu,” capturing the minds of both young and old across the continent.

Korea’s increasingly popular dramas, movies and other entertainment genre also helped draw a record number of visitors.

About 1.44 million Chinese came to Korea during the January to September period in 2010, up 44 percent from the same period last year.

By the end of this year, more than two million Chinese will likely come here, up from 1.34 million in 2009. The sharp increase is largely attributed to Korea’s loosening of visa restrictions for Chinese visitors in July to attract higher numbers of wealthy consumers from the world’s fastest growing economy.

In 2012, the number of Chinese tourists will likely reach over three million, exceeding that of Japanese for the first time.

Officials at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said that Korea can attract over 10 million international visitors within two or three years if the trend continues at its current pace.

They plan to organize a range of promotional events to attract more visitors from the mainland over the next few years, as well as build more affordable lodging facilities and improve other key tourism infrastructure.

Last Tuesday, the ministry unveiled a package of measures, including the provision of financial incentives and the easing of various related regulations to help hotels and private investors construct 30,000 additional hotel rooms in and around Seoul by 2012.