Travelers to, from S. Korea hit record high in H1

SEOUL, July 5 (Yonhap) -- The number of travelers to and from South Korea reached an all-time high in the first six months of this year, government officials said Tuesday, helped by an increased number of tourists from Thailand and China.
The number of inbound and outbound travelers to and from South Korea rose 3.85 percent from one year ago in the January-June period to 14.99 million, according to the Incheon Immigration Office.
The number of outbound South Korean citizens grew 5 percent on-year to 4.22 million in the six-month stretch, it said, while the number of inbound South Koreans was up 5.4 percent in the same period to 4.21 million.
The number of foreigners who entered South Korea inched up 2.3 percent to 2.62 million in the same period, according to the office, while 2.48 million foreigners departed the country, down 0.9 percent from one year ago.
During the first six months, China was the most popular destination for South Koreans, the government agency said, followed by the United States, Japan and Thailand. Visits to Japan declined sharply to 404,999 in the period, down 31.5 percent from one year ago.
Japanese people represented the largest portion of foreign visitors to South Korea, accounting for 27 percent of the inbound foreigners in the first half of this year, followed by Chinese, Americans and Taiwanese.
While travelers from Japan to Korea dropped 11.9 percent from one year ago, travelers from Thailand and China jumped 28.6 percent and 14.8 percent, respectively, the office said.
ylee@yna.co.kr