South Korea’s tourism industry is thriving thanks to a weakening yen and a drop in fuel surcharges.
   
Travel agency Hana Tour received 256-thousand overseas travelers in January, up 30 percent from the same month last year.
   
Another travel agency Mode Tour saw the number of its overseas travelers jump 31 percent to 133-thousand-700, the largest since the founding of the company.
   
Analysts say that the boom in the outbound tourism industry is attributable to a fall in fuel surcharges leading to lower airline ticket prices as well as a weakening yen strengthening South Korean’s purchasing power.
   
Industry insiders predict that the boom will continue for the time being, noting that the demand for overseas trips is increasing ahead of this month’s Lunar New Year holiday.