Number of foreign visitors returns to level before MERS

The number of foreign visitors arriving in South Korea returned to the level before the outbreak of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), data showed Saturday, casting a brighter outlook for the local tourism industry.

South Korea‘s justice ministry said the number of daily foreign visitors came to 40,078 on Tuesday, and has stayed above the 30,000 mark since mid-May.

The figure dropped to as low as 12,325 on June 25 as the outbreak of the disease kept foreigners away. The number of daily visitors in May before the fear of the disease had spread stood at around 39,000.

The country had been suffering from a sharp decline in the number of visitors since the MERS outbreak, which claimed 36 lives and infected 186 people here. South Korea declared a de facto end to the outbreak on July 28, about two months after it reported its first case.

“The resolution of the MERS outbreak and various policy measures to attract foreign tourists apparently have had an impact,” the ministry said. 

The government has been making various efforts to revitalize the local tourism industry, including exempting visa fees for visitors arriving on group tours. (Yonhap)