According to provincial government statistics, 2.45 million tourists visited Seongsan Sunrise Peak in 2011. Of these, 1.71 million were Korean nationals and 738,000 were foreign tourists.
This is up 25 percent from 2010’s 1.97 million mark.
The numbers also indicate that 28 percent of all visitors to Jeju in 2011 made their way to see this geological attraction and UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site, located on the east of the island.
A record 7.65 million Korean nationals and 1.05 million foreigners came to Jeju as tourists last year -- for a grand total of 8.7 million.
On Dec. 16, the 1 millionth foreign tourist arrived at Jeju International Airport from Shanghai, China. Over 1 trillion won ($850 million) in tourism revenue from these overseas travelers was recorded last year.
The provincial government has said it hopes to hit the 10 million tourist mark by the end of 2012 and by 2014 hopes to have 2 million annual foreign visitors. <Jeju Weekly>
<Todd Thacker toddthacker@jejuweekly.com ⓒ Jeju Weekly All rights reserved>