Tourism to Jeju Island Plummets Due to Coronavirus Fears

If you ever wanted to visit Jeju Island without crowds now is the time:

Jeju Island has been hit particularly hard by the coronavirus outbreak since its economy relies to at least 70 percent on tourism, mostly from China. 

The government is halting visa-free entry of Chinese tourists from Tuesday, and Koreans are shunning the southern resort island because they are afraid of running into infected Chinese tourists there. 

Last year 1.73 million foreigners visited Jeju, 62.5 percent of them from China, but since late last month, when the new coronavirus started spreading throughout China, Chinese visitor numbers have plunged. 

Flights between Jeju and China dwindled from 24 a day on Jan. 21 to just seven on Sunday. There are 18 direct routes to Chinese cities, and 15 of them are currently on hold while the remaining ones are only 44 percent full, compared to 90 percent in boom times.

Chosun Ilbo

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