The Korea Tourism Organization announced on July 23 that the number of foreigners who visited Korea last month increased 20.3 percent year-on-year to 1,273,627.
In particular, the number of Chinese tourists soared by 43.8 percent, owing to the holiday season from June 1 to 3 and the summer vacation that started in mid-June. The number of tourists from Hong Kong jumped 57.4 percent thanks to the popularity of the Korean Wave. The no-visa agreement between Korea and Russia resulted in 32.9 percent growth in the number of Russians entering Korea.
Meanwhile, that of Japanese tourists decreased 14 percent. The possible reasons include the ongoing diplomatic conflict between Korea and Japan, decline in youth exchange programs, and less use of package trips by senior citizens.
During the same period, a total of 1,270,439 Koreans went abroad, to show a 4.0 percent growth from the previous year.