Number of foreign tourists to hit record high in 2019

A street in Myeong-dong in central Seoul is crowded with citizens and foreign travelers, Tuesday. The number of foreign tourists to Korea is expected to reach a record 17.5 million this year. / Yonhap

By Kang Seung-woo

The number of international tourists to Korea for this year is expected to reach a record 17.5 million amid efforts to draw more independent Chinese travelers and diversify markets, the state-run tourism promotion agency said, Tuesday,

According to the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), 16.05 million foreign tourists visited Korea between January and November, and an additional 1.45 million are expected to travel here by the end of the year.

"Considering the current pace of foreign tourist arrival in Korea, the total number for this year is easily likely to set a record," a KTO official said.

The previous annual record for inbound tourists is 17.24 million set in 2016.

Taking a closer look, the record number means one international traveler visits Korea per 1.8 seconds and 118 fully occupied 407-seater airplanes land daily over the course of a year.

The high number of visits is expected to generate many economic ripple effects, including 25.1 trillion won ($21.6 billion) in tourism revenue and creation of about 460,000 jobs.

This year's record-setting number carries extra weight given that the Chinese government's ban on group tours to Korea has continued, following the aftermath of rows over the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in Korea, and that the number of Japanese tourists declined in response to Korea's "Boycott Japan" movement in the second half of 2019.

According to the World Tourism Organization, international tourist arrivals worldwide grew by 4 percent between January and September of this year, led by the Middle East's 9 percent and Asia Pacific's 5 percent. However, Korea posted a 16 percent increase during the same period.

Also, Korea moved up three places from 19th in 2017 to 16th this year on the world travel and tourism competitiveness index by the World Economic Forum.

In order to attract more independent tourists from China, the nation's No. 1 tourism market, the government has simplified visa issuance regulations for Chinese college students and middle-income earners. As a result, the number of individual Chinese tourists to Korea advanced by 26.1 percent year-on-year in the first 11 months to reach 5.51 million.

In addition, tourists from Southeast Asia and the Middle East surged 10 percent from a year ago to 2.94 million between January and November.

The number of visitors to Korea from the United States is expected to top 1 million by the year's end. Thus the U.S. becomes the fourth country from which over 1 million travel to Korea annually following behind China, Japan and Taiwan.

To mark the all-time high figure, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the KTO will hold a ceremony to welcome the 17.25 millionth foreign visitor to Korea at Incheon International Airport this Thursday.

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