The Korea Tourism Organization says the number of foreign tourists to visit South Korea is expected to reach a record high of eight-point-eight million this year, helped by an increase of Chinese and Japanese visitors.

According to a state-run tourism company Monday, the figure is up 12-and-a-haf percent from the seven-point-eight million recorded last year, breaching the eight million mark for the first time.

The number of Japanese tourists is forecast to stand at three-point-02 million this year, topping the three million mark for a second year. Japanese tourists are expected to make up about 34 percent of all foreign tourists in South Korea.

Meanwhile, the number of Chinese tourists is predicted to reach about one-point-nine million, up 40 percent from last year. Chinese tourists are expected to account for 21 percent of all foreign tourists of 2010.

The tourism organization plans to implement various policies next year in order to attract ten million foreign tourists next year.