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| The terminal at Jeju International Airport is crowded with tourists in this file photo taken before the coronavirus outbreak. / Korea Times file |
By Lee Hyo-jin
The number of tourists visiting Jeju Island dropped to 19,511 ― including 86 foreign nationals ― Dec. 15, a 55 percent fall from Nov. 15, amid the third wave of COVID-19 infections sweeping the country, according to the Jeju Tourism Association, Wednesday.
Although the tourism sector in Jeju Island had been showing signs of recovery, recording over one million tourists in October, the sharp decline is attributable to a surge of infections in the metropolitan area as well as the growing number of confirmed cases on Jeju Island.
The island, which used to be the only part of the country with confirmed cases in the double digits, has recently seen the number surpass 100. Recent cases are related to groups of tourists from Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province and infections from local churches and welfare centers, according to the health authorities.
To this end, Jeju Special Self-Governing Province has announced plans to raise the social distancing regulations to Level 2 starting from Friday, and is considering the implementation of mandatory coronavirus tests for everyone before they are permitted onto the island.
Jeju has reported 138 confirmed virus cases as of Wednesday.
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