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The Korea Herald
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THE INVESTOR
March 29, 2024

Economy

Chinese card spending soars to W8tr in 2016

  • PUBLISHED :February 24, 2017 - 15:51
  • UPDATED :February 24, 2017 - 17:32
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[THE INVESTOR] Chinese people’s credit card spending in South Korea soared almost 50 percent on-year in 2016, industry data showed on Feb. 24.

Shinhan Card and Korean Culture and Tourism Institute analyzed the card expenditure of 17.2 million visitors and 1.16 million registered residents here. A total of 15.09 million credit cards issued by Visa, American Express, mastercard, JCB and Union Pay were examined. 



According to the analysis, the total card spending by foreign nationals increased 31.9 percent to 13.73 trillion won (US$12.22 billion) last year, which compares to 2015 when the tourism industry was hit hard by the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome.

The Chinese spent the most at 8.32 trillion won, a 26.2 percent growth from a year ago. More than half the spending, about 56.3 percent, was on shopping, followed by accommodation and dining.

The Japanese came in second, taking up 13.8 percent of the total expenditure. Their number rose 25 percent to 2.3 million people but their car spending showed a modest 2.7 percent increase.

By Park Yuna (yunapark@heraldcorp.com)

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