17.11 million visitors to Korea through September, nearing last year's annual total

[Financial News] By September this year, 17.11 million foreign tourists had visited Korea, bringing the total close to last year's full-year figure. Card spending in the tourism sector and arrivals through regional airports and seaports also increased.
According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on the 22nd, 2.06 million visitors came to Korea in September, up 21.1% from the same month last year. The cumulative number of visitors from January to September this year was up 21.5% from 14.08 million during the same period last year.
The annual number of visitors to Korea last year was 18.94 million, about 1.83 million more than the cumulative total through September this year. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism forecast that this year's total would surpass last year's annual figure sometime this month.
Foreigners' card spending in the tourism sector totaled 15.9416 trillion won from January to September, up 47.7% from 10.794 trillion won during the same period last year. This figure also includes online spending.
From January to September this year, 3.24 million visitors entered Korea through non-capital-area airports, including those in Gimhae, Jeju, Cheongju and Daegu, up 37.4% from the same period last year. Arrivals through regional ports, including Busan, Jeju, Seogwipo, Yeosu and Gunsan, totaled 1.58 million, an increase of 14.5%.
Of all visitors to Korea, 19.0% arrived through non-capital-area airports and 9.2% through regional ports. The combined share of the two routes was 28.2%.
Among the major countries and regions, China had the highest cumulative number of visitors to Korea, at 5.47 million, followed by Japan with 3.12 million and Taiwan with 1.86 million. Those figures were up 29.2%, 16.9% and 32.4%, respectively, from the same period last year. A total of 1.62 million visitors came from the Americas and 1.19 million from Europe.
Kang Jeong-won, head of the Tourism Policy Office at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said, “Efforts on multiple fronts, including raising awareness of tourism to Korea, improving the travel environment and expanding content, are bearing fruit.”
[email protected] Jang In-seo Reporter