Number of foreign tourists up 23% on-month in August in Seoul

The number of foreign tourists to South Korea rose 23.2 percent on-month to 1.35 million in August as more Chinese people visited here, a state tourism body said Tuesday. The Korea Culture & Tourism Institute said that it is the first time that the monthly number of foreign tourists visiting the South topped the 1.35 million mark. A sharp rise in Chinese tourists contributed to the increase in the number of foreign tourists in August, the institute said. The number of Chinese tourists was up 78.9 percent to 642,300 in August from a month ago, taking up 47.3 percent of the total number of foreign tourists. The weak yen against the South Korean won caused Japanese visitors to fall 22 percent, reaching 270,600, which accounts for 19.9 percent of the total. In the first eight months of the year, foreign travelers to the South topped the 8-million mark, up 8.6 percent from the previous year.