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By Lee Hyo-sik
Staff Reporter
South Koreans' credit card spending in foreign countries dropped in the third quarter for the first time in 54 months, as the number of people heading overseas declined on the weak local currency and a slow rise in income amid worsening economic conditions.
With fewer outbound travelers and more inbound visitors, the nation's travel account in September posted its smallest deficit in 10 years, with October's account being widely projected to run a surplus.
According to the Bank of Korea (BOK) Thursday, Koreans spent $1.85 billion abroad during the July-September period, down 1.4 percent from the previous quarter. It marks the first quarter-on-quarter decrease since the first three months of 2004, when overseas card spending fell 7.9 percent, following the credit card bubble burst.
Those who purchased goods and services using credit and debit cards in foreign countries were fewer by 1 percent, to 2.48 million in the third quarter from the previous quarter, while per-capita card spending came to $745, down 0.3 percent.
``The number of outbound travelers decreased sharply, as local households are grappling with rising debts and falling income growth in the wake of the ongoing financial market turmoil and the economic downturn. Additionally, the falling won against the dollar and the yen forced Koreans to stay here rather than go overseas and spend money,'' a BOK official said.
The number of outbound tourists dropped 14 percent to 3.12 million in the third quarter from 3.62 million a year ago, according to the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO). The won has weakened more than 37 percent against the greenback this year, making overseas travel more expensive.
Foreigners' card spending here also dropped 2.8 percent to $560 million during the July to September period from a quarter earlier, despite an increase in the number of incoming foreign visitors. The number of foreigners using cards at least once to buy goods and services rose 1.7 percent to 1.16 million but their average spending declined 4.4 percent to $480.
With fewer outbound travelers and an increase in inbound tourists because of the weakened won, Korea's travel account is expected to record a surplus in October.
The central bank said the account posted a $60 million shortfall in September, the lowest since 1998, as Koreans spent a total of $840 million in foreign countries, while foreigners spent $780 million here.
The number of outbound travelers dropped 19.4 percent to 1.02 million in September from a year ago, while 588,000 foreign tourists visited the country, up 5.4 percent, according to the KTO.
A KTO official said as the number of Koreans going abroad also fell last month and the opposite is true for foreign visitors, the nation may have posted a travel account surplus in October, adding if the trend continues, Korea may post an account surplus next year.
[출처 : 코리아타임스]
