The number of foreign visitors arriving in South Korea by cruise ship neared 1.3 million in the first eight months of this year, driven largely by arrivals from China, data showed Sunday.
A total of 1.28 million foreign passengers and crew members arrived aboard cruise ships in the January-August period, up 12 percent from a year earlier, according to the Korea Tourism Organization.
With 148 cruise ship port calls and 638,905 passenger arrivals scheduled for the fourth quarter, the annual total could surpass 2 million this year, exceeding last year's record of 1.6 million.
By port, Seogwipo on the southern resort island of Jeju accounted for more than half of all arrivals by sea through August.
By nationality, Chinese citizens accounted for the single largest share at 57.7 percent over the period. (Yonhap)