Accordingly, the number of Koreans travelling abroad increased dramatically in the first nine months of 2023, with over 16.22 million tourists going by air, up 382.7% year-on-year.

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Korean tourists visit the Central Post Office in Ho Chi Minh City.

The top five countries based on the number of passengers using flights in the January-September period are Japan (4,859,770 people), Vietnam (2,567,968), Thailand (1,089,888), the Philippines (1,086,291), and the U.S. (800,399).

The number of Korean tourists visiting Vietnam in the reviewed period sharply surged by 389.7% compared to the same period in 2022. The central coastal city of Da Nang was the most attractive destination for Korean visitors.

The country that has reported the most decrease in the number of Korean tourists compared to the time before the COVID-19 pandemic is China. Before the health crisis, China ranked among the countries most favored by Korean travelers, but this year the country slipped out of the top five. The tourist arrivals to and from China reaching over 3.4 million in 2019, but so far the recovery has been negligible.

Source: VNA