The Korea Tourism Organization noted on June 17 that the surge was largely driven by Chinese tourists, whose card spending more than tripled in May compared with the same month last year.

　　The organization attributed the increase to high-end luxury shopping by Chinese visitors, especially watches, jewelry and accessories.

　　South Korea has stepped up efforts to attract more Chinese tourists. Recently, Seoul and Beijing agreed to increase bilateral air traffic rights by an additional 70 flights per week within the second half of the year, including 56 passenger services, according to a June 8 statement from South Korea's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

　　The agreement marked the first expansion of bilateral traffic rights since 2019 and reflects growing people-to-people exchanges and trade between the two countries.

　　Passenger traffic between China and South Korea reached around 4.39 million in the first quarter, surpassing the pre-pandemic level of 4.14 million recorded during the same period of 2019 before COVID-19, ministry data showed.

　　Looking ahead, the Yanolja Research institute in Seoul predicted in January that South Korea would welcome a record of more than 20 million foreign visitors this year.

　　China is expected to solidify its position as the largest inbound tourism market, with 6.15 million arrivals, the travel and tourism research institute said.

　　It added that the figure could exceed 7 million as some travelers choose destinations other than Japan amid bilateral tensions.