Chinese tourists prefer Korea

Chinese tourists prefer Korea

By Kim Tae-gyu Asia’s two superpowers are at war over the disputed territory of the Senkaku Islands of Japan, known as the Diaoyutai Islands in China. However, the wrangling is seemingly benefiting Korea as far as the tourism industry is concerned. According to the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), the monthly number of Chinese visitors to Korea reached record highs during the past few months when the conflicts over the islands culminated. More than 150,000 Chinese have visited here a month over the last five consecutive months since this May, which is phenomenal since the monthly visitors had typically remained in the neighborhood of 100,000 in the past. Along the same line, a decreasing number of Chinese tourists take a flight to Tokyo as anti-Japanese sentiment sprouted up this year due to the territory controversy over the uninhabited islands in the East China Sea. ``Early this year, Chinese visited Japan as often as Korea. However, more of them have opted for Korea this summer for some reason. In September, the difference was outstanding,’’ a KTO official said. ``The heated argument on the Senkaku Islands appears to have prompted Chinese people to visit Korea rather than Japan. We need to monitor whether the trend will continue down the road.’’ The bickering over the Senkaku Islands is not a fresh issue. Yet strife sprouted up once again of late when Tokyo detained a Chinese fishing trawler in September operating in waters around the islets. The Japanese government eventually released the captain late September but the anti-Japanese sentiment did not subsidize in the world’s most populous country. ``Think of Dokdo. Would you want to spend money on Japan should Tokyo beefs up its claims on the outcrops? The same logic seems to be applied to the majority of Chinese tourists,’’ a Seoul analyst said. ``I am not sure whether Chinese will keep selecting Korea as their final destination in the future. Seoul is required to develop tourist attractions in order to draw Chinese people to take advantage of the hard-earned opportunities.’’ Situated around 90 kilometers off Korea’s Ulleung Island, Dokdo is a set of volcanic outcrops, whose ownership has been disputed between Seoul and Tokyo over the past several decades. Dokdo, known as Takeshima in Japan, is presently under the strict control of Korea with the country’s police officers stationed there. Yet, Japan has not stopped claiming sovereignty over the islets, which have rich fishery resources and undersea minerals. 중일 영토분쟁에 한국만 이익? - ``고래싸움에 새우 복 터진다!’’ 중국과 일본이 동중국해 상의 센카쿠 (중국명 댜오위다오) 열도에 대해 분쟁을 계속하고 있는 가운데 중국 관광객이 일본을 회피해서 한국 관광 산업이 반사이익을 얻고 있는 것으로 보인다. 1일 한국 관광공사에 따르면 매월 우리나라의 중국인 방문자 수는 올 초만 해도 100,000 명 정도였다. 하지만 올해 5월부터 다섯 달 연속 150,000명이 넘어갔고 특히 8월에는 기록적인 수치로 250,000명에 근접했다. 중국인 중 일본인 방문객은 올 초만 해도 월 100,000명 정도로 비슷했지만 이번 여름을 계기로 확실히 한국에 뒤지게 되었다. 관광공사의 한 직원은 ``올 초만 해도 중국의 관광객 수가 한국과 일본이 비슷했다. 하지만 이번 여름 한국이 앞서게 되었고 9월 달에는 그 차이가 크게 났다. 아마 영토 분쟁에 따른 중국 측의 반일 감정이 어느 정도 영향을 미친 듯 하다’’고 분석했다. 중국과 일본의 영토분쟁은 새로운 이슈가 아니다. 하지만 올 여름 그 갈등이 고조되다가 9월 초 일본인 중국 어선을 나포하면서 양국 관계는 급속도로 악화되었다.

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