The number of South Korea's overseas tourists topped 11 million in the first nine months of the year, data showed Sunday.

Some 11.25 million South Korean residents traveled overseas in the January-September period, up 9.3 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute.

The think tank explained that a growing leisure boom among locals has contributed to the rapid increase in overseas departures.

The number of South Koreans traveling overseas reached a fresh high in 2012, despite a prolonged global economic slowdown.

According to industry data, 13.73 million people traveled abroad last year, up 7.5 percent from the previous year and the highest number since related figures started being tracked in 2001.

The previous record was 13.32 million in 2007, but the number of overseas travelers fell in 2008 and 2009 in the wake of the global financial crisis before rebounding in 2010.

The institute said the number of foreign visitors to South Korea rose 9.6 percent on-year to 9.25 million in the first three quarters of the year, it added.

The number of Chinese travelers to South Korea surged 59 percent on-year to reach 3.43 million, according to the data. (Yonhap News)