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The number of Koreans traveling overseas is rising steeply and local travel companies
say the number of those going abroad in January hit a record high.
The reason is that the growing strength of the Korean currency is giving travelers more
spending power abroad.
Yoo Li-an reports.
Korean exporters are suffering from a stronger won against the dollar and yen but local travel
agencies report that more Koreans are going abroad as their spending power increases in
foreign countries.
Hanatour the country's largest travel company said that the number of its customers traveling
abroad jumped by more than thirty percent on-year last month to about 185-thousand.
This is a new monthly record high surpassing one last August.
The most popular destinations were Southeast Asia followed by China and Japan.
The second largest travel company, Modetour also saw a spike in overseas travelers in
January up by over 20-percent from a year earlier.
Industry experts say such a surge in overseas travelers comes on the back of the stronger
Korean won which has cut the cost of overseas shopping and accomodation.
According to the central bank, the won gained 7-point-6 percent against the dollar last
year from a year earlier while it rose nearly 20 percent against the Japanese yen in the
same period.
Yoo Li-an, Arirang News.