Chinese tourists to ROK rise 41%

The number of Chinese tourists visiting the Republic of Korea has skyrocketed and is set to surpass six million this year, according to Korea Tourism Organization.

KTO data revealed on Monday that Chinese tourists surged by 40.9 percent year-on-year, accounting for 43 percent of the 14 million expected foreign arrivals in Korea by the end of 2014.

Visitors from Japan were the second-largest group with 2.11 million tourists, followed by the US with 720,000.

In addition, the six million Chinese visitors are estimated to have spent some $9.6 billion during their trips, accounting for 55 percent of Korea's total tourism income of $17.6 billion this year.

Despite the Sewol ferry disaster and the weakening Japanese yen, this year saw the strongest growth in a decade with a 16.6 percent increase in foreign visitors up, said KTO.

The KTO has set targets of 15.5 million visitors in 2015 and 20 million by 2017 by stepping up tourism promotion efforts and introducing customized programs to meet diverse needs.