Terrorist fears, Tokyo-Seoul rift
take their toll on S. Korean tourism
By Jim Lea, Osan bureau chief
Fewer tourists visited South Korea in September because of closed U.S. airports and a
rift between Seoul and Tokyo.
The Korean National Tourism Organization reported an 8.4 percent drop in the number of
tourists entering South Korea in September compared to August, the highest month-to-month
decrease in six years.
A tourism spokesman said part of the decrease was attributable to U.S. airports being
closed for several days following the Sept. 11 attacks in New York and Washington. He said
inbound tourist numbers remained low the rest of the month, apparently because of a fear
of hijackings after the attacks.
Some 421,080 tourists entered the country in September, he said, the lowest monthly
figure since October 1995.
According to agency statistics, the number of tourists arriving from the United States
in September dropped 25.8 percent as compared to August. The number of tourists from Japan
fell 12.5 percent and the number from the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Taiwan,
Malaysia and Indonesia fell an average of 14.5 percent.
The drop in U.S. tourists to Korea also may have been affected by Federal Aviation
Administration sanctions slapped on Korean Air and Asiana Airlines for alleged unsafe
operations, the spokesman added.
The only tourism increase in September compared to August was recorded among visitors
from Hong Kong – up 22.5 percent – and China – up 3.4 percent, according to
the figures. The spokesman said those increases resulted from China’s high economic
growth rate and a Korean cultural boom being experienced in the country.
The number of tourists from Japan began dropping last summer when serious relationship
issues arose between Seoul and Tokyo. The issues included Korean anger over the approval
of Japanese middle school textbooks that Koreans say contain flawed information, Prime
Minister Junichiro Koizumi’s visit to a controversial war shrine in Tokyo and a
fishing dispute.
Seoul canceled all educational and military exchanges with Tokyo as a result, and
threatened to stop importing Japanese cultural products such as music and movies.
Those issues appeared, however, headed for a resolution after meetings last week
between Koizumi and President Kim Dae-jung.
But while the number of inbound tourists decreased, the number of Koreans traveling
abroad increased in September as compared to August, the travel organization spokesman
said. Some 461,529 Koreans left the country on international trips during the month, a 7.2
percent increase over last year.
Korean Air and Asiana Airlines reported serious revenue losses following the Sept. 11
attacks.
Bae Gi-chul contributed to this report.
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