Tourists from China take pictures at a tangerine farm in Jeju Island, Sept. 26. Korea Times file

Jeju Island, which has been experiencing a decline in domestic tourists, is instead attracting a growing number of international visitors, according to the island's tourism authority and industry experts, Thursday.

Expanded airline routes and seaways connecting international travelers to the island have been key factors in this trend. Resort complexes filled with foreign visitors now flock to nearby hotels and casinos, illustrating a changing reality that was once dominated by local tourists.

According to the Jeju Tourism Organization, the number of local visitors to the island last month was just over 1 million, representing a 2.9 percent decline from the previous year. In contrast, the number of foreign visitors surged by 119 percent during the same period, reaching nearly 182,000.

The number of foreign visitors stands out even more throughout the year. From January to September, their total exceeded 1.5 million, marking a 217.8 percent year-on-year increase. In contrast, the number of local visitors dropped by 5.9 percent during the same period, falling from 9.7 million to 9.1 million.

Thanks to the foreign tourists, the overall number of visitors to the island this year jumped by 4.5 percent from the previous year, to 10.6 million.

The increase in available seats for inbound flights and cruises from overseas, coupled with reduced slots for local bookers, has significantly contributed to the influx of foreign visitors.

During the country's Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving Day) holiday week last month, domestic flights offered 293,000 seats and cruises provided 60,000 seats, reflecting declines of 5.5 percent and 9.4 percent from the previous year, respectively. In contrast, international flights connecting to the island during the same period offered 35,300 seats, a 50 percent increase from the previous year. Additionally, cruises from China and Japan provided 25,000 seats during this time, quadrupling compared to the previous year.

Chinese visitors to Jeju Island get off the Blue Dream Star cruise at Port of Jeju, Aug. 31, 2023. Yonhap

Direct international flights to and from Jeju Island have expanded since the slowdown of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022. As of August, the weekly number of flights operating from Jeju International Airport has increased to over 195. The Tokyo-Jeju routes resumed in July after a three-year hiatus, and the Shanghai-Jeju routes added eight more flights to their weekly schedule.

Luxury hotels and tourism infrastructure on the island are experiencing significant sales growth due to the influx of foreign visitors.

Jeju Dream Tower, a resort complex featuring the Grand Hyatt hotel and a foreigner-only casino operated by the major Korean tourism developer Lotte Tour, reported third-quarter sales of 130 billion won ($98 million) and second-quarter sales exceeding 104 billion won.

In August, the hotel reported that more than 70 percent of its 1,600 suites were booked by foreign guests, a significant increase from just 20 percent in January. During China's Golden Week from October 1 to 7, over 95 percent of the hotel's entire suites were booked. The casino has also experienced a milestone, welcoming over 100,000 visitors in a single quarter for the first time since its launch in 2021.

“Jeju is seeing about 200,000 foreign visitors each month, with Jeju Dream Tower generating monthly sales of over 30 billion won,” a tourism market analyst from SK Securities said. “The figures prove the island has further cemented its tourism fundamentals.”