Foreigners using domestic airlines sharply rise
Foreigners using domestic airlines reach six-year high for first half of this year, according to stats released by BOK Tuesday. Yonhap
By Kim Hyun-bin
Domestic airlines' income from foreign passengers bounced back in the first half of the year after six consecutive years of decline mainly thanks to the growing return of Chinese travelers, according to the central bank, Tuesday.
Air passenger revenue is payment earned from foreign travelers using eight Korean carriers _ two full-service airlines, Korea Air and Asiana Airlines, and six low-cost ones.
The latest report from the Bank of Korea (BOK) showed that revenue stood at 2.23 trillion won ($1.98 billion) during the first sixth months of 2018, up 17.8 percent from a year ago.
The figure marked a rebound from negative growth recorded since 2012, when the six-month income last hit a peak of $2.55 billion.
Since then, the revenue had been on a continuous decline from $2.55 billion to $1.68 billion in 2017.
The recent rise in revenue has been attributed to more foreigners entering the country, the BOK noted.
In the first half of this year, over 7.2 million foreigners visited Korea, a 6.9 percent gain from the same period last year.
In March last year, the Chinese government banned Chinese tour groups from travelling to Korea due to Seoul's deployment of a U.S. missile defense system, better known as THAAD, here.
However, thanks to a thaw in the diplomatic ties between Seoul and Beijing, more Chinese have been returning to Korea starting this year.
“Chinese tourists entering the country once peaked over 900,000 in one month, but we are currently looking at around 400,000 tourists,” said the BOK. “The THAAD effect is not totally gone, but there has been an increase in Chinese tourists, we believe that number will exceed 400,000 for July.”
The BOK also said rising oil prices also affected the rebound in the foreign passenger revenue.
Midway through last year, Dubai crude oil prices were in the $40 to $50 per barrel range, and fuel surcharges on international flights were dropped.
However, the tide has turned as oil prices skyrocketed to over $70 a barrel this year, and fuel surcharges returned.
June's fuel surcharge recorded the highest in the first half of this year with airlines charging a maximum 72,000 won ($64).
With this rate experts predict the air passenger yearly revenue could also increase for the first time in six years.
Korean's using foreign airlines increased 4.2 percent in the first half of the year compared to the same period last year accounting for $1.4 billion.