Cruise passengers to Korea expected to double this year

Economy

Cruise passengers to Korea expected to double this year

The number of cruise passengers visiting Korea is expected to top 2.2 million this year, doubling from last year’s tally, aided by an influx of Chinese travelers via cruise packages, a state-run tourism promotion agency said Tuesday.

According to the Korea Tourism Organization, 1.94 million cruise passengers had visited the country as of the end of October, up 129 percent from a year earlier. If that pace continues, the total tally for 2016 will exceed 2.2 million. A large portion of the passengers, or 72 percent, were Chinese speaking travelers, it said.

Since 2010, the number of cruise travelers to Korea has increased at an annual rate of 47 percent. Yonhap