South Koreans’ overseas card spending dropped for the second straight quarter in the April-June period as fewer people traveled and spent abroad amid deepening economic slump, data showed Thursday.

According to data released by the Bank of Korea, overseas card spending by Koreans came to $4.67 billion in the second quarter ended June, down 0.1 percent from the previous quarter after a 3.3 percent decline in the January-March period.

The drop in overseas card spending came as the number of people traveling overseas declined significantly in the second quarter.

In the first quarter ended March, offshore card spending had dropped but the number of travelers increased. Koreans traveled to relatively cheaper countries like Japan and Vietnam, leading to an overall drop in spending.

In the second quarter, however, the number of Koreans traveling overseas also dropped. A total 7.14 million people went abroad, down 9.2 percent from 7.86 million three months earlier.

The BOK said that the plunge in the number of people traveling overseas is due to seasonal factor as it is often the case that fewer people go abroad in the second quarter compared with first and third quarters with holiday breaks.

The average spending per card, meanwhile, also shrank from $274 in the first quarter to $269 in the second quarter, data showed. The BOK said more people preferred short-distance trips and countries that cost less like Vietnam and China.

By card type, purchases made with credit cards amounted to $3.43 billion in the second quarter, up 1.3 percent from the previous quarter. Those made with direct payment cards, on the other hand, fell 3.4 percent to $1.2 billion, and debit cards 0.9 percent to $41 million, data showed.

Credit card spending by foreign residents in Korea, meanwhile, increased 20.6 percent to $2.6 billion in the second quarter from the previous quarter.

By Kim Yeon-joo and Lee Eun-joo

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