[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s tourism deficit for the first five months of the year showed a year-on-year rise despite the government's efforts to boost the industry, central bank data showed on July 10.
The tourism deficit for the period rose 1.3 percent from a year ago to come in at US$1.49 billion. The figure for the same period last year is US$1.47 billion, according to the Bank of Korea.
South Koreans headed overseas line up at the Incheon International Aiport in this file photo from June. The Investor
The number of visitors plummeted last year following an outbreak of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).
The bank attributed the deficit of the industry to the increasing number of South Koreans going abroad on vacation.
The number of South Koreans who traveled abroad came to 8.85 million in the January-May period, up 13.9 percent from the same period last year, separate data showed.
According to the Korea Tourism Organization data, 6.55 million foreigners visited South Korea during the cited period, up 10.6 percent from the same period a year ago.
The government has been making various efforts to strengthen the competitiveness of the country's tourism industry.
Last month, the government unveiled a plan to establish a panel on the national tourism strategy, which aims to ramp up cooperation among government agencies and related industries. The government also set a goal of creating 43,000 new jobs through various measures to make the tourism industry more competitive.
(
theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)