A large number of South Koreans are expected to make overseas trips during the country's "golden holidays" in early May, industry sources said Friday, sparking concerns over a big tourism deficit amid a tumble in Chinese visitors.

South Korea marks Buddha's Birthday on May 3 and then Children's Day on May 5. Having a day off on May 4 can make it a five-day holiday.

Local tourism agencies said they have been flooded with reservations for tickets to Japan and Southeast Asian countries despite a maximum 70 percent jump in airfares.

Hana Tour Co., the nation's top travel agency, said the number of reservations for overseas trips starting between May 1-7 has soared 19.5 percent from a year ago as of Thursday.

Reservations for tours to Japan have shot up 126 percent, with those for trips to Southeast Asian nations surging 30.5 percent.

"The number of reservations is expected to increase further as there are still more days before the start of the holiday week," a Hana Tour official said.

In contrast, the number of Chinese visitors to South Korea is feared to plunge during its Labor Day holiday between April 29-May 1 due to Beijing's retaliation against Seoul over a missile defense system. Starting May 15, China banned sales of package tours to South Korea.

In the first 19 days of this month, the number of Chinese tourists plunged 21.9 percent from the sale period a year earlier.

During last year's Labor Day holiday, some 63,000 Chinese visited South Korea.

Given the expected tumble in the number of Chinese tourists, South Korea is widely expected to suffer a large deficit in its tourism balance in May.

Meanwhile, more Japanese tourists are expected to visit Seoul during this year's so-called golden week holiday from May 3-7 than last year. Some 72,000 Japanese toured South Korea during last year's golden week.

In contrast to a downturn in Chinese visitors, the number of Japanese tourists to South Korea has been on a steady rise this year. In the first two months of this year, 339,000 Japanese visited South Korea, up 20.8 percent from the previous year. (Yonhap)