S. Korea Tourism Sales Down

China has eased its restrictions on travel to South Korea, but the extent of the damage done to the South Korean tourism industry is becoming clearer. South Korea's National Assembly Budget Office said on Sunday that the nation's travel and accommodation industry saw sales fall by some $6.9 billion in the first nine months of this year, Arirang.co.kr reported. During this period, South Korea was visited by around 3.3 million fewer tourists from China. The figure was calculated based on the expenditures of the average Chinese tourist who as of 2016 spent nearly $260 on a single trip here. Chinese tourists spend a lot more in South Korea than the overall average tourist. China had banned all group tours to the neighboring country since March in the wake of South Korea's decision to install the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system.