S. Korean tourism on the rise despite new flu

SEOUL, Nov. 3 (Yonhap) -- The number of foreign tourists to South Korea has risen
in recent months, with visitors from Japan and China on the increase despite the
fast spreading Influenza A virus here, a state tourism agency said Tuesday.

An estimated 730,000 foreign tourists visited South Korea in October, up 12.4
percent from a year ago, according to the Korean Tourism Organization (KTO). The
figure follows a 15.5 percent increase in foreign tourism in September.
The number of foreign tourists reached 695,880 in August, up 19.8 percent from a
year earlier despite Seoul's heightening of its flu alert to the second-highest
level on July 21, the agency said.
In the first nine months of this year, about 5.77 million foreign tourists
traveled to South Korea, up 15 percent from 5.02 million a year ago, with
Japanese and Chinese travelers making up about 56 percent of the total.
"Japanese and Chinese visitors seem to believe that South Korea is relatively
safe from the new flu," said Na Sang-hoon, an official at KTO. "Another factor is
the lower travel cost in South Korea."
KTO said it is aiming to attract about 7.5 million foreign tourists to South
Korea this year.
Since the first confirmed case was reported here in early May, the H1N1 virus has
claimed the lives of 42 South Koreans, with an average of 8,857 people per day
having caught the disease last week.
ksnam@yna.co.kr
(END)