S. Korea records tourism deficit for 17th straight month in October

South Korea recorded a deficit in tourism balance in October, extending its losing streak to 17 months since June last year, data showed Tuesday.

According to the data by the Korea Culture & Tourism Institute, the country's tourism deficit came to $94 million in October.

The spending by foreign tourists visiting the country came to $1.448 billion in October, while South Korean tourists' overseas spending reached $1.542 billion.

Foreign tourist arrivals stood at 1.09 million in the same month, up 6.1 percent from a year ago, with South Korean overseas tourists rising 7.3 percent on-year to 1.24 million.

In the first 10 months of the year, the cumulative deficit in the country's tourism balance reached $3.53 billion, nearing last year's deficit of $3.7 billion.

Given the data from October, market watchers predict that South Korea's tourism balance will remain in the red this year for the 13th consecutive year since 2001. (Yonhap News)