South Korea cruise ship visitors more than doubled during the first half of 2016 according to figures released from the Maritime Ministry.
There were 900,000 arrivals by cruise ship at the country’s four cruise ports, up by more than 120% compared to a year ago.
The number of cruise ship calls also jumped significantly, from 195 to 306, the ministry said.
Based on current capacity and demand fuelled predominantly by Chinese cruisers, South Korea will welcome 1.9 million arrivals by sea this year, the Korea Tourism Organization said.
KTO officials said cruising is one of the fastest growing sectors in Asia and it will beef up marketing efforts across the region to attract more travellers by sea.
"We will expand cruise packages combining entertainment programs and develop a wide selection of luxury tour programs in the latter half of this year. We will also hold presentations to attract more tourists from the inner Chinese cities," said KTO official Park I-rak.
