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| Vacationers enjoy surfing at a beach on Jeju Island, Monday. Yonhap |
Over 1 million people expected to visit island in July amid soaring virus cases
By Bahk Eun-ji
Jeju Island is seeing a growing number of tourists, despite the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, as people weary of the year-long-plus quarantine measures are heading to the resort island as a summer vacation destination.
The large number of visitors from mainland Korea is inevitably pushing up the number of coronavirus cases on the island, increasing the concerns for the health authorities and residents there.
According to the Jeju Tourism Association (JTA), 990,000 people visited Jeju from July 1 to 28. By the end of the month, the figure is expected to rise to around 1.1 million.
It is not unusual for more than 1 million people to visit Jeju every month, as it is one of the country's most famous tourist destinations, but the health authorities worry that infections on the island are growing due to the increased number of visitors.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), reported 423 COVID-19 cases on Jeju from July 1 to 28, the highest monthly figure for the island, with the previous record being 340 in December last year.
Recently, 15 people who stayed at three different guesthouses July 16 and 17 were confirmed to have been infected with the coronavirus. Six tourists from Busan, who visited the island together July 17, despite the ban on gatherings of more than four people, were also confirmed to be infected.
Adding to the concerns is that more tourists are expected in August.
According to a poll conducted by the JTA on 1,000 people planning to visit Jeju this summer, 14.2 percent said that they would visit in July, and 85.8 percent said August.
The situation is very different from last year. In March 2020, after the outbreak started in Korea, only 487,622 people visited the island, while during the third wave of the pandemic in December the number of tourists fell to 625,865 a month.
The JTA said despite the prolonged pandemic, the start of vaccinations has eased fears of infection among people, and the demand for travel has also increased, as many people have been unable to have a "normal" vacation for more than a year.
"Jeju Island may be the most virus-vulnerable place from July to August due to the surge in visitors, so we will respond sternly to any violations of quarantine rules," said Lim Tae-bong, chief of the COVID-19 response with the Jeju local government. "We ask people to follow social distancing guidelines strictly, such as wearing masks in order to reduce the risk of infection."
