[Numbers in the News] Jeju Tourists Near 10 Million as Many Choose Overseas Trips Instead

The number of tourists visiting Jeju this year is expected to exceed 10 million.

Jeju Province announced on the 11th that the number of tourists who visited Jeju from the beginning of this year until the 9th was 9,677,313. Domestic tourists accounted for 8,314,560, and foreign tourists 1,362,753. The province expects that 297,000 visitors will arrive during the Chuseok holiday from the 12th to the 18th. By date, the projections are 38,000 on the 12th, 44,000 on the 13th, 46,000 on the 14th, 50,000 on the 15th, 43,000 on the 16th, 38,000 on the 17th, and 38,000 on the 18th. The province anticipates that the milestone of 10 million tourists will be reached on the 18th, which is 10 days earlier than last year.

Last month, the number of foreign tourists exceeded 200,000 for the first time this year. Chinese tourists surpassed 1 million on the 4th. Notably, Taiwanese tourists exceeded 100,000 for the first time this year. The increase in direct flight routes and cruise ship arrivals, improving accessibility, had a positive impact.

The number of tourists visiting Jeju increased from 5.53 million in 2006 to 10 million in 2012. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2019, it surged to 15 million. Although there was a slight slowdown after the COVID-19 outbreak, more than 10 million tourists have consistently visited Jeju every year.

However, complaints about inconveniences such as overcharging remain prevalent. The Jeju Tourism Association's Jeju Tourism Complaint Center received a total of 226 reports over two months. The main issues were dissatisfaction with service and unfriendliness (31 cases), excessive or unfair charges (27 cases), and high prices or overcharging (22 cases).