May - the California Tourism Industry Website

B. Outbound Travel Market
According to the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), the number of Korean outbound
travelers in April was 1,018,645, an increase of 17.4% compared to the same month
(867,487) in 2011. The total number of Korean outbound travelers from January to
April was 4,388,713, up 7.2% from the same period (4,095,816) in 2011.
According to Korea Association of Travel Agents (KATA) and Korea Tourism
Association (KTA), the number of Korean outbound travelers in February was 368,962, a
9% increase compared to the same month in 2011. Travel agencies Yellow Balloon,
Online Tour and Very Good Tour showed over 30% increases in February.
C. Competitive Environment
Rendez-Vous Canada was held at Edmonton Expo in Alberta, Canada from May 13 to 16.
About 1,500 sellers, buyers and media from all over the world participated.
The 38th Germany Travel Mart was held in Leipzig, Germany from May 12 to 15.
About 160 people in the tourism industry from all over the world participated and shared
information about the German tourism market. Korea Tour, Dream Tour, M&Service
Tour, Very Good Tour and Hana Tour participated from Korea in this year.
D. Consumer Trends
Credit card use by Koreans traveling abroad climbed to the second highest record to date
in the first quarter this year. Overseas card use of Korean residents recorded $2, 27
billion, which is the second highest figure after the all-time high record set in the third
quarter last year ($2.30 billion) according to the Bank of Korea. The number of people
using credit cards overseas and the amount purchased per card increased in line with the
spike in number of Koreans traveling abroad. Outbound Korean travelers increased
11.3% from the previous quarter (3.03 million people) to 3.37 million people. The
amount of purchase per card was $464, up 2.4% from the previous quarter’s $453.
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