By Chung Ah-young
The number of foreign tourists visiting Korea plummeted 41 percent in June compared to the same period last year, due to fears about the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak here, statistics showed Tuesday.
It was the first year-on-year decrease in 25 months since May 2013.
The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) said that last month's figure was about 750,900, a huge drop from 1.27 million a year before. It was also the lowest monthly figure since June 2010 when the nation had some 718,000 visitors.
"The reduced number is attributable to the travel advisory warnings for Korea slapped by the governments of Taiwan and Hong Kong, which were hit hard by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003," a KTO official said.
The number of visitors from Hong Kong and Taiwan plunged 74.6 percent and 75.7 percent from a year ago, respectively.
Hong Kong and Taiwan issued red alerts and advised their people against traveling to Korea.
According to the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), flight reservations from Hong Kong to Korea almost halved in June.
"The memory of SARS in the region has scared tourists off Korea. Cautious about infectious diseases, their governments were quick to respond against MERS, resulting in a drastic fall in tourists from these regions," he said.
This trend is expected to reverse and experts believe tourism will rebound in the coming months as the spread of the MERS is now under control. Tourism authorities and municipalities are also having all-out measures to bring tourists back.
The KTO launched a "100-day tourism recovery plan," aiming to recover the monthly visitor numbers in 100 days.
It focuses on holiday periods in neighboring countries such as the three-day "Obon Festival" and "Silver Week" in Japan during August and September and China's Gold Week holiday period in early October.
Also, international cruises which cancelled travel to Korea due to the epidemic are returning to major ports in the nation.
Diamond Princess, a cruise ship, will reach Busan International Cruise Terminal on July 29, carrying some 3,000 passengers including 2,500 Japanese citizens. Nine more cruise ships, including two luxurious cruisers carrying Chinese passengers, are also expected to enter the port.
Jeju is also expected to have about 10 cruise ships through November, which is seen as a positive sign for the tourist industry.
The number of foreign tourists visiting Korea plummeted 41 percent in June compared to the same period last year, due to fears about the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak here, statistics showed Tuesday.
It was the first year-on-year decrease in 25 months since May 2013.
The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) said that last month's figure was about 750,900, a huge drop from 1.27 million a year before. It was also the lowest monthly figure since June 2010 when the nation had some 718,000 visitors.
"The reduced number is attributable to the travel advisory warnings for Korea slapped by the governments of Taiwan and Hong Kong, which were hit hard by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003," a KTO official said.
The number of visitors from Hong Kong and Taiwan plunged 74.6 percent and 75.7 percent from a year ago, respectively.
Hong Kong and Taiwan issued red alerts and advised their people against traveling to Korea.
According to the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), flight reservations from Hong Kong to Korea almost halved in June.
"The memory of SARS in the region has scared tourists off Korea. Cautious about infectious diseases, their governments were quick to respond against MERS, resulting in a drastic fall in tourists from these regions," he said.
This trend is expected to reverse and experts believe tourism will rebound in the coming months as the spread of the MERS is now under control. Tourism authorities and municipalities are also having all-out measures to bring tourists back.
The KTO launched a "100-day tourism recovery plan," aiming to recover the monthly visitor numbers in 100 days.
It focuses on holiday periods in neighboring countries such as the three-day "Obon Festival" and "Silver Week" in Japan during August and September and China's Gold Week holiday period in early October.
Also, international cruises which cancelled travel to Korea due to the epidemic are returning to major ports in the nation.
Diamond Princess, a cruise ship, will reach Busan International Cruise Terminal on July 29, carrying some 3,000 passengers including 2,500 Japanese citizens. Nine more cruise ships, including two luxurious cruisers carrying Chinese passengers, are also expected to enter the port.
Jeju is also expected to have about 10 cruise ships through November, which is seen as a positive sign for the tourist industry.
