Image: Yonhap News
The number of tourists to South Korea plunged 99.5 percent in May as global travel restrictions remained in place due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Data from the state-run Korea Tourism Organization on Monday showed a mere 6,111 foreign tourists visited the country during the month compared with over 1.2 million a year earlier.
The figure was up slightly from 5,135 in April but marked a sharp drop from about 31,500 in March, nearly 504,000 in February and 1.03 million in January.
The data also showed the total number of foreign arrivals was 30,861 in May, down roughly 98 percent on-year.
By country, U.S. tourists accounted for the largest number of visitors at 2,996, followed by those from the Philippines with 725 and Indonesia with 581.
Only 178 tourists from China were tallied in May and 45 from Japan.
The KTO cast a gloomy outlook for tourist arrivals down the road, citing the resurgence of coronavirus cases in the United States and other countries.
South Korea requires all arrivals to self-quarantine for two weeks in an effort to curb the spread of the new virus.
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