April 25, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] The number of foreign tourists to Korea slipped last year in the wake of a diplomatic row between Seoul and Beijing over the deployment of THAAD, government data showed on Jan. 22.

A total of 13.3 million foreigners visited Korea in 2017, down 22.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the Korea Tourism Organization.

The drop has been widely expected, as Beijing has banned its travel agencies from selling Korea-bound trips since mid-March, in apparent retaliation over Seoul‘s deployment of THAAD.

The number of Chinese nationals who visited Korea last year stood at 4.16 million, down 48.3 percent from 8 million tallied the previous year, the data showed. Chinese accounted for nearly half of the 17 million foreigners who visited Korea in 2016.

In contrast, more Koreans traveled abroad, taking advantage of cheaper airfares offered by low-cost carriers. The number of outbound travelers rose 18.4 percent to 26.5 million in 2017, according to the data.

By Alex Lee and newswires (alexlee@heraldcorp.com)