South Korea's monthly travel deficit hits 2 year high

South Korea's travel account deficit surged to a 2-year high in January as South Koreans spent more during their overseas trips amid the won's gain, central bank data showed Saturday. South Korea's travel account logged a deficit of US$996 million in January, the highest level since January 2011 when it stood at $1.29 billion, according to the data by the Bank of Korea. Outbound travelers spent more than foreign tourists did in South Korea in January as a strong Korean won reduced costs for outbound travelers while discouraging inbound travel. In January, the number of South Korea's outbound travelers hit a record high of 1.426 million while inbound travelers fell to 754,000 foreigners, compared with 835,000 in December, according to data compiled by the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute. The number of Japanese tourists also dropped by about 20,000 to 206,000 in January from the previous month, according to the institute affiliated with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.