The number of domestic trips taken by South Koreans dropped sharply last year due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, a research institute said Sunday.

South Koreans are estimated to have taken 225.19 million domestic trips in 2020, down 34.7 percent from a year earlier, the Korea Culture & Tourism Institute said in a report based on a survey of more than 50,000 people last year.

The report showed South Koreans on average took 4.95 domestic trips per person last year, down from 7.61 in 2019.

Domestic tourism spending per person plunged 45.7 percent on-year to 530,000 won ($470) in 2020. Average spending per trip also declined 18.8 percent on-year to 109,000 won.

South Korean tourists spent the most money in January last year, with an average of 770,000 won per person, according to the report, far above their expenditures in the summer vacation season with 568,000 won in July and 573,000 won in August.

The survey result indicates that the country's domestic tourism industry took a big hit from the novel coronavirus pandemic.

South Korea confirmed its first COVID-19 case on Jan. 20, 2020, and infections exploded in late February with cases tied to a minor religious sect in Daegu.

The average number of visitors to 2,569 major tourism sites in South Korea reached only 103,464 last year, down 47.2 percent from 2019. (Yonhap)