The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism predicts the number of foreign tourists visiting South Korea will jump 23 percent year-on-year from four-point-33 million to five-point-33 million in the first half of the year.

The ministry said it expects South Korea will achieve its goal of attracting 11 million foreign tourists by the end of this year if the upward trend continues.

It said that the nation accumulated a travel deficit of 140 million dollars from January through May. But it noted the first half deficit is a far cry from the one-point-nine billion dollar travel deficit South Korea recorded during the same period in 2011.