In this file photo, foreign travelers walk down Myeongdong street in central Seoul on May 21, 2023. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, May 30 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of foreign travelers to South Korea surged by sevenfold in April from a year earlier on eased travel restrictions amid efforts to return to pre-pandemic normalcy, data showed Tuesday.
A total of 889,000 foreign travelers visited South Korea last month, up nearly 600 percent from the 128,000 tallied in the same month last year, according to the data compiled by the Korea Tourism Organization.
The monthly figure also accounted for 54 percent of 1.6 million tallied in April 2019, before the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.
Some 128,000 Japanese people traveled to South Korea last month, up 5,651 percent from a year ago, followed by 109,000 American visitors, up 252 percent on-year.
Tourists from China shot up 10 times to 106,000 thanks to increased flights between the two countries and China’s labor day holiday season.
The numbers from Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam totaled 77,000, 54,000 and 41,000 visitors, respectively.
Meanwhile, a total of 1.5 million South Koreans traveled overseas last month, up almost sevenfold from a year earlier.
(Yonhap)
