SEOUL, Jan. 23 (Yonhap) — The number of visitors to South Korea traveling on cruises nearly tripled in 2024 from a year earlier, driven by post-pandemic travel demand, data showed Thursday.
Around 810,000 tourists visited South Korea on cruise ships in 2024, compared with 273,000 a year earlier, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.
The number of cruises arriving at South Korean ports also reached 414 in 2024, up from 203 the previous year, the data showed.
The latest tally, however, still falls far below the peak of 1.95 million visitors recorded in 2016.
Last year, Chinese tourists accounted for 510,000, or 63 percent of the total. It marked a sharp rise from just 50,000 in 2023.
In 2025, the oceans ministry said the number of tourists on cruise ships is expected to reach 1.09 million.
The government will continue to make efforts to develop tour packages at ports of call and take measures to host more cruises, the ministry added.
Tourists from cruise ships head to board a bus at a port on the southern resort island of Jeju in this file photo taken on June 26, 2024. (Yonhap)
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