The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism says eleven-point-five million international tourists visited South Korea in the first eight months of the year.

The number of mainland Chinese tourists is up 36 percent from 2014, amounting to five-point-six million in the January-to-August period.  The number of tourists from Hong Kong and Taiwan rose 24 percent over the same period to one-point-seven million.

Six-hundred-one-thousand Chinese tourists came here last month alone — up 12 percent from the same period in 2014.

The ministry is planning diverse events to attract and welcome foreign travelers.  It anticipates many Chinese to visit South Korea during China’s holiday season in early October.

It’s also boosting marketing efforts in cooperation with the Korea Tourism Organization in order to attract a total of 16-point-five million foreign visitors, including eight million Chinese tourists, by the end of this year.