Foreign tourists on cruise ships jump 88% in H1

[THE INVESTOR] The number of foreigners visiting South Korea on cruise ships came in at 720,000 in the first half of the year, rising 88 percent from a year earlier, government data showed on July 4.

According to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries 720,000 foreign tourists arrived by cruise ship on 305 occasions during the first six months of the year. The ministry projects that the number for the year will break the 1.5 million mark, and rise to 2.2 million in 2017.

By port, Jeju Port saw the largest number of foreign tourists arriving by ship at 500,000, followed by Busan Port with 180,000.

With cruise ships scheduled to dock a total of 543 times at various Korean ports during the second half of the year, the ministry expects the 1.5 million milestone to be passed this year.

The economic effect of foreign tourists coming on ships is estimated to reach 1.5 trillion won (US$ 1.3 billion) this year and rise to 2.2 trillion won in 2017. According to the Oceans Ministry, each foreign tourist spent US$886 at the port of call last year.

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)