2016 Chinese business gets off to a roaring start in Korea
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The Chinese tourism and travel retail business began with a bang in January with arrivals up by +32.4% year-on-year to 521,981, according to Korea Tourism Organization.
The growth is all the more impressive for coming off a strong base. January 2015 saw a similarly robust +32.9% rise to 394,345.
Departures by Koreans also rose strongly, up +15.1% in January to 2,112,337, following an impressive +20.1% increase in 2015.
The January figures will be much welcomed by Korean travel retailers after a difficult 2015 caused by the mid-year MERS crisis. Chinese arrivals dipped by -2.3% last year, a fall driven entirely by the catastrophic slump in tourism from June through August.
Japanese visitor arrivals remained soft in January, falling -2.0% to 136,884, following a -19.4% fall in 2015.
For 2015, Chinese visitors accounted for 45.2% of all arrivals, with the once dominant Japanese representing a mere 13.9% share.
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| Visitor arrivals by gender for January; Source: Korea Tourism Organization |
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| Visitor arrivals by purpose and nationality for January; Source: Korea Tourism Organization |
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| Outbound departures of Korean nationals by gender for January; Source: Korea Tourism Organization |
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| Visitor arrivals by gender for 2015; Source: Korea Tourism Organization |
Questions & Answers
Q.How did Chinese tourist arrivals in Korea compare between January 2015 and January 2016?
How did Chinese tourist arrivals in Korea compare between January 2015 and January 2016?
Chinese arrivals in January 2016 were 521,981, a +32.4% increase from January 2015's 394,345 arrivals. This showed impressive growth year-on-year.
Q.What impact did the MERS crisis have on Chinese tourist numbers in 2015?
What impact did the MERS crisis have on Chinese tourist numbers in 2015?
The MERS crisis caused Chinese arrivals to dip by -2.3% overall in 2015. This fall was driven entirely by a catastrophic slump in tourism from June through August.
Q.What was the trend for Japanese visitor arrivals in January compared to the previous year?
What was the trend for Japanese visitor arrivals in January compared to the previous year?
Japanese visitor arrivals remained soft in January 2016, falling -2.0% to 136,884. This followed a more significant -19.4% fall for them in 2015.
Q.How significant were Chinese visitors to total arrivals in 2015 compared to Japanese visitors?
How significant were Chinese visitors to total arrivals in 2015 compared to Japanese visitors?
In 2015, Chinese visitors accounted for 45.2% of all arrivals. The once dominant Japanese visitors represented a much smaller 13.9% share.
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