The number of overseas tourists who visited Korea in September skyrocketed 276% from the same month last year.
The Korea Tourism Organization on Oct. 31 released data on Korean tourism from that month saying the number of international visitors was an estimated 337,638.
The figure was up 247,800 (276%) from the same month last year (89,800).
By country, the U.S. sent the most tourists with 60,435, a surge of 214.3%. Second was China, whose number grew 54.3% to 29,531, followed by Japan (27,550), Vietnam (22,784) and the Philippines (18,191).
The statistics showed the substantial effectiveness of a visa-free entry system introduced in August for tourists from Japan, Taiwan and Macao. The number of travelers from all three regions grew exponentially, with those from Japan growing 2,313.3%, Taiwan 1,449.3% (455) and Macao 583.3% (41).
The number of Vietnamese visitors jumped 1,174.3%.
Also in September, the number of Korean nationals who went overseas reached an estimated 619,954, up 431.6%.
Source: Korea.net