The number of South Koreans visiting Japan is expected to surpass 7 million this year for the first time ever thanks to reduced costs of traveling to the neighboring country.

Data released by Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) and Japan National Tourism Organization on Monday showed that 5.84 million Koreans have visited Japan in the first 10 months of this year, up 40 percent from the same period a year earlier. Given the current pace of 600,000 average monthly visits, the full-year tally is likely to exceed 7 million.

About 29.2 percent of Koreans have visited Japan so far this year, making it the No.1 outbound destination, according to KTO.

The rise in Japan’s popularity is attributed to a weak Japanese currency and more affordable flight options from budget carriers, which have pushed down overall travel costs, as well as aggressive marketing activities from Japanese local governments.

In contrast, the number of Japanese tourists visiting Korea has remained almost flat due to the depressed yen that makes it expensive for Japanese people to travel overseas and geopolitical risks triggered by North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats. The visitor count totaled 1.90 million in the January-October period, similar to the 1.89 million a year earlier. Around 2.3 million Japanese are estimated to visit Korea this year, roughly one-third the number of Korean tourists to Japan.

By Park Joon-hyung and Kim Hyo-jin

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]