到韓国觀光的日本遊客減少

A few weeks ago the Yomiuri News on-line reported the following:

韓国、日本人客減に危機感…都内で誘致イベント

2014年07月14日 23時52分

　韓国の観光業界が、日本人観光客の減少歯止めに懸命だ。

　日韓関係の悪化、円安・ウォン高、４月のセウォル号の沈没事故と悪材料が重なり、２０１４年に訪韓する日本人は２５０万人程度と、ピークだった１２年から３割近くも減る見込みだ。一方で、中国からの観光客は、両国の外交上の蜜月を象徴するように、右肩上がりで増えている。

　韓国観光公社は１４日、都内で日本人観光客誘致イベント「韓国観光の夕べ」を開き、両国の旅行業界関係者ら約２００人が参加した。訪韓日本人は、李明博(イミョンバク)前大統領の竹島上陸（１２年８月）をきっかけに減少に転じた。同公社は「歴史問題を巡る対韓感情の悪化が最大の原因」としており、卞秋錫(ビョンチュソク)社長は、「文化や観光の交流は、政治外交と区別して発展させていくべきだ」とあいさつした。

(試譯文)

The South Korean sightseeing industry was eager to stop a decrease in Japanese tourists.

The aggravation of Japan-Korea relations, the weak Yen and strong Won, and the sinking accident of MV Sewol bad news in April adding on each other; the number of Japanese who would visit South Korea in 2014 was likely to be about 2,500,000 people which was a decrease from the peak in 2012 by about 30 percent. On the other hand, the number of tourist from China was increasing, with an upward rise which symbolized the honeymoon in diplomacy between the two countries.

On the 14^th (July) in the metropolitan area the Korea National Tourism Organization opened a Japanese tourist attraction event: the "South Korea evening sightseeing", with about 200 tourist industry community staff from both countries participating. Japanese visiting South Korea started to decrease following former President Lee Myung-bak's landing on Takeshima (August, 2012). The same public organization considered that "centering on problems in history, the landing was a major reason that had caused bad feeling towards South Korea". President Byun Chusoku said in his greeting that "development in cultural exchange and sightseeing should be separate from politics in diplomacy".

I hope the decreasing trend could stop in the near future.