This May 26, 2021, file photo shows two men entering South Korea through Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, while quarantine officials look on. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, May 31 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of foreign visitors to South Korea surged by nearly 140 percent last month, a public corporation said Monday, attributing the explosive growth to a COVID-19-induced base effect.
In April, 70,112 foreign nationals arrived here, up 138.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the government-invested Korea Tourism Organization (KTO).
The robust growth came to pass due to the base effect, as the number of foreign arrivals in April 2020 dived to 29,415, the lowest in the year, amid COVID-19-related travel restrictions.
By nationality, Chinese accounted for 16,830 of last month’s foreign arrivals here, followed by Americans with 12,944, Filipinos with 8,398 and Indonesians with 3,680, the KTO noted.
The number of South Koreans who traveled abroad also sharply increased by 126.9 percent to 71,302 last month, it said, attributing it to the base effect from a sudden drop in departures a year ago.
(Yonhap)
