Foreign tourism to Seoul rises 22% in first eight months, spending jumps nearly 60%

SEOUL, Oct. 6 (Yonhap) -- The number of foreign visitors to Seoul in the first eight months of this year increased by about 22 percent from the same period last year, while their credit card spending in the city surged nearly 60 percent, data from the city government showed Tuesday.

Seoul attracted a record 11.56 million foreign tourists in the January-August period, up 21.6 percent from a year earlier, the government said, noting their credit card spending surged 59.9 percent on-year to 7.78 trillion won (US$5.8 billion).

In August alone, 1.72 million foreigners visited the capital, up 23.3 percent from 1.4 million a year earlier, it noted.

By country, tourists from China, Japan and Taiwan accounted for 66.4 percent of foreign visitors to Seoul in August. China topped the list with 636,000 visitors (36.9 percent), followed by Japan with 322,000 (18.6 percent) and Taiwan with 188,000 (10.9 percent).

The city government said the shopping sector accounted for the largest share of foreign visitors' card spending at 46.6 percent, followed by medical and wellness sectors at 23.8 percent, food and beverage at 13.2 percent, and accommodation at 10.4 percent.

Foreigners' spending at large shopping malls in Seoul surged 77.5 percent, while their spending on medical tourism and dining rose 64.2 percent and 59.5 percent, respectively.