Tourism Deficit Shrinks Due to Won’s Fall

South Korea's travel account shortfall narrowed to $3.1 billion last year from $10.1 billion in 2007, as the weaker won led to a steep increase in foreign tourists and a decrease in overseas trips by Koreans, according to Yonhap News Sunday.

The country reaped $9.3 billion in tourism income last year, marking an annual net increase of $3.5 billion, or 61.3 percent, according to figures released by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

In contrast, South Koreans' spending on overseas travel dropped 22 percent to $12.4 billion in the cited period, resulting in a $7 billion decline in the nation's tourism deficit.

The numbers are largely attributed to the sharp weakening of the Korean won against major global currencies, including the U.S. dollar and the Japanese yen. The won fell 25.7 percent against the greenback last year as overseas investors cut down exposures to emerging economies amid the global financial turmoil.

The ministry said a total of 6.89 million foreigners visited South Korea last year, up 6.9 percent from 2007, while the number of Koreans traveling overseas fell from 13 million to 12 million, the first decrease since 2003.

Japanese topped the list of foreign visitors with about 2.38 million, followed by Chinese with 1.17 million) and Americans with 610,000.