The number of cruise passengers visiting South Korea is expected to top 2.2 million this year, doubling from last year's tally, aided by an influx of Chinese travelers via cruise packages, a state-run tourism promotion agency said Tuesday.

According to the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), 1.94 million cruise passengers had visited the country as of end-October, up 129 percent from a year earlier. If that pace continues, the total tally for 2016 will exceed 2.2 million.

A large portion of the passengers, or 72 percent, were Chinese speaking travelers, it said.

Since 2010, the number of cruise travelers to South Korea has increased at an annual rate of 47 percent, with the figure topping 1 million last year for the first time.

The KTO said the cruise industry is one of the fastest-growing sectors in Asia, and pledged to step up overseas marketing efforts to attract more travelers, in particular more cruise travelers from Chinese-speaking countries. (Yonhap)