Jeju tourist numbers increase by 2.2% on year led by foreign visitors

Jeju has welcomed over 11.6 million tourists this year as of last Tuesday, marking 2.2 percent in growth on year attributed to an influx of international visitors.

Travelers wait for their flight on the third floor at Jeju International Airport on Friday. [JOONGANG ILBO]

Jeju has welcomed over 11.6 million tourists this year as of last Tuesday, marking 2.2 percent in growth on year attributed to an influx of international visitors.

The island has seen a threefold surge in overseas travelers, with the figure jumping to 1.66 million this year from the previous year’s 552,334.

During the same period, fewer Koreans visited the island this year. Domestic travelers surpassed the 10-million-visitor threshold 18 days later than last year, demonstrating weakened demand in domestic tourism.

Until September, every month this year saw an on-year drop in the number of domestic tourists visiting the island. Figures were down by 6.2 percent in January, 13.2 percent in February, 19.5 percent in March, 5.3 percent in April, 4.5 percent in May, 8.1 percent in June, 2 percent in July, 0.6 percent in August and 7.3 percent in September.

According to data from the Bank of Korea’s Jeju branch, the island’s domestic tourist demand has recovered to 91 percent of pre-pandemic levels. However, foreign tourist demand has exceeded pre-pandemic levels, recording a recovery of 116 percent.

Japanese tourists arrive at a cruise terminal on Jeju Island. [JEJU TOURISM ORGANIZATION]

Normalization and expansion of international flights and cruise ship operations have brought more foreign travelers to Jeju. Yet, Koreans have chosen to go abroad instead of traveling to the island destination.

Chinese tourists have led the exponential growth of foreign visitors to the island. Of Jeju's 1.5 million foreign visitors between January and September this year, around 1.1 million were Chinese nationals, according to the Jeju Tourism Association on Sunday.

The number of Chinese tourists in September this year was 134,364, more than double the 57,240 Chinese visitors in the same month last year.

Seats on international flights have increased, while domestic seats have decreased.

Compared to last year, available seats on domestic flights until this year’s third quarter decreased by 1.9 percent, while that of international flights connecting Jeju with foreign airports increased by 130.9 percent.

Controversy around pork belly served with larger amounts of fat than meat and accusations of business owners' gapjil — a Korean term referring to abuse of power — have negatively affected domestic travelers’ interest toward Jeju.

Tourists are seen in front of Shilla Duty Free shop on Jeju Island on Sept. 4. They reportedly arrived at the island on cruise ship from Shanghai, China. [JOONGANG ILBO]

Along with the economic downturn, which has resulted in decreased consumer spending on tourism, highly priced golf activities on Jeju have also taken a hit, with people choosing the relatively cheaper Southeast Asian countries or Japan over Jeju.

The number of golfing visitors from outside the island dropped 8.2 percent this year, marking 941,118 until September. Some golfers have commented that going overseas provides the “best value for money” compared to Jeju.

BY CHOI CHOONG-IL, LEE SOO-JUNG [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]