A beach on Jeju Island is crowded with visitors and tourists on Sept. 12. YONHAP Foreign visitors to the Korean resort island of Jeju spent 44.4 percent more in the first half of the year than they did a year earlier, boosting total tourism spending by 6.4 percent to 1.31 trillion won ($969 million), the Jeju Tourism Organization said Wednesday. Foreign tourist spending reached 305 billion won in the first six months of this year, while spending by Korean visitors slipped 1.5 percent to 1.01 trillion won. Foreign visitors represented 23.2 percent of total tourist spending, according to estimates by the Jeju Tourism Organization based on BC Card transaction data. The total spending of 1.3 trillion won between January and June this year was up 6.4 percent from a year earlier, adding 78.5 billion won. The first quarter drove the stronger spending growth in the first half. 모바일 야마토2온라인게임 Total tourist spending reached 609.5 billion won in the January-to-March period, up 13.9 percent from a year earlier. Foreign tourist spending surged 63.1 percent, while domestic spending rose 6.1 percent. The pace slowed sharply in the second quarter. Foreign tourist spending rose 34.5 percent, but domestic spending fell 7.7 percent. As a result, overall tourist spending edged up just 0.6 percent from a year earlier to 704.6 billion won. Tourists opened their wallets widest for meals, baked goods and coffee on Jeju in the first half. Foreign visitors dressed in hanbok (traditional Korean attire) take photos on Jeju Island on Feb. 17. YONHAP Tourists spent 497.2 billion won at restaurants, cafes and bakeries. Retail businesses, including convenience stores, cosmetics shops, souvenir stores and duty-free shops, followed at 466.4 billion won, while lodging accounted for 227.6 billion won. 모바일신천지모바일 Spending on arts, sports and leisure totaled 79.9 billion won, while other services, including rental cars, drew 43 billion won. Spending patterns among domestic and foreign tourists diverged sharply. Domestic visitors spent 424.5 billion won at restaurants and 388 billion won at retailers, far more than the 97.4 billion won they spent on lodging. Foreign tourists, by contrast, spent the most on lodging at 130.2 billion won, followed by 78.4 billion won in retail and 72.7 billion won at restaurants. Tourists from Greater China, which includes China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, were the biggest spenders among foreign visitors. They spent 85.1 billion won in the second quarter alone, or 45.8 percent of total foreign tourist spending. Crowds throng the departure floor at Jeju International Airport's domestic terminal on Sept. 26. YONHAP 황금성하는곳 Spending by tourists from Greater China at retailers selling cosmetics, soap and fragrances jumped 51.3 percent from a year earlier, while spending at Korean restaurants rose 55.8 percent. Their activity was concentrated in Jeju City’s newer districts, including Yeon-dong and Nohyeong-dong. Yeon-dong drew a larger share of spending on restaurants and retail, while Nohyeong-dong led in lodging and leisure. They were followed by tourists from elsewhere in Asia except Japan at 33.1 billion won, or 17.8 percent; North America at 31 billion won, or 16.7 percent; Europe at 22.8 billion won, or 12.3 percent; Japan at 8 billion won, or 4.3 percent; and Oceania at 4 billion won, or 2.1 percent. “Jeju’s tourism spending in the first half of 2026 was marked by a sharp increase in foreign visitor spending, which drove overall growth even as domestic spending softened somewhat,” said an official from the Jeju Tourism Organization. “We plan to use the report as a reference for tourism policy and decision-making across the industry.” BY CHOI CHOONG-IL [] aiwan, wer