Number of Japanese travelers falls 26.2% in February

The Japanese currency's weakness drove down the number of Japanese travelers to South Korea by 26.2 percent last month from a year earlier, data showed Saturday. The number totaled 217,000 in February, compared with 171,950 the previous year, according to data by the Korea Culture & Tourism Institute. The February data marked the sixth straight month of falls. The decline came as the Korean currency gained some 22.5 percent against the yen last month compared with September amid Japan's powerful monetary easing moves. The yen has been under downward pressure as Japan vowed to implement an aggressive bond-buying program in a bid to tackle decades of deflation. The yen declined around 16 percent per the dollar in February, compared with six months earlier. Meanwhile, the number of Chinese inbound travelers rose 43.7 percent on-year to 249,000 last month, data showed. More Chinese tourists visited Korea because of the weeklong Lunar New Year holiday, which ran from Feb. 9-15 in China, industry watchers said. The Korean currency's ascent raised the number of Korean outbound travelers in February, data showed. The number of local residents traveling overseas rose 3 percent on-year to 1.18 million, data showed. The total number of outbound Korean travelers reached 2.61 million and more people are likely to make overseas trips due to the won's strength, they said.