The number of foreigners who visited South Korea this year surpassed 16 million in early December thanks to the rising influx of travelers from Asian nations, the state-run tourism agency said Tuesday.
A total of 15.9 million foreigners visited the nation in the January-November period, up 31.3 percent from a year earlier, the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) said.
Myeongdong, a major shopping district in downtown Seoul, is crowded with travelers on Dec. 4, 2016. (Yonhap)
Considering the average number of daily visitors is about 48,000, the KTO estimated the total number for this year reached over 16 million in the first week of December, and expects to see the number of inbound travelers surpass 17 million this year.
The number of incoming Chinese soared 36.6 percent on-year over the period to account for nearly half of the total, driven by a surge in independent travelers.
Visitors coming here from Southeast Asian nations, including Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia, rapidly surged, and the number of those from North America and Europe also showed double-digit growth, it noted.
The tourism agency said it will step up efforts to diversify the tourism market with customized programs for a growing number of independent travelers. (Yonhap)
