Korean tourism to benefit as Chinese tourists avoid Japan- Philippines

China observes National Day this Friday marking the 61st anniversary of the People's Republic. During the holiday, which lasts for seven to ten days, some 210 million Chinese people will travel in the country or abroad, the China Travel Research Institute forecast Saturday, up 18% from last year.

The Chosun Ilbo reports that about 1.7 million are expected to spend their holiday overseas, a 12 percent gain from 2009. In a survey by the CTRI, respondents cited Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, Europe, the U.S., Korea and Thailand as the destinations they hope to go to during the upcoming holiday. The institute said that Korea and Taiwan are most likely to benefit as Chinese tourists avoid Japan and the Philippines.

Japan is losing its glamour due to the row over islands known in Japan as Senkaku and in China as Diaoyu, while the Philippines is regarded unsafe after eight tourists from Hong Kong were killed late last month during a bus hijacking in Manila.

According to Hong Kong daily Wenweipo, with the rising value of the yuan and a weaker won, Korea has emerged as a popular alternative destination. This August a department store in Seoul saw a 261 percent on-year rise in the number of Chinese customers, the paper added. Chinese tourists are said to spend over 10,000 yuan on average in Korea.

Sourced=ETN