TOKYO, June 16 (RIA Novosti) – Tourist traffic between Russia and South Korea has increased from 36 percent to 60 percent in the first three months of 2014 following the visa waiver program launch, Yonhap news agency reported, citing data from the South Korean Foreign Ministry.
"The implementation of the waiver program reduces the time and cost required to visit each other's countries. We saw an increased number of Russians here [in South Korea] for travel, including medical tourism," a representative of the South Korean Foreign Ministry said.
In January-March 2014, some 25,192 South Korean citizens have visisted Russia, which is 61 percent more than a year earlier. In turn, in the first quarter of 2014 some 36,014 Russians citizens have visited South Korea. In January-March 2013, the number of tourists was 26,479 people, which is about 36 percent lower than in the current year.
The agreement on the abolition of visa requirements between Russia and South Korea was signed November 13, 2013 after the Russian-Korean summit talks in the presence of the two leaders, Vladimir Putin and Park Geun-hye.
The visa-free regime allows tourists from Russia to stay in South Korea for 60 days and vice versa. The total period of authorized stay in the territory of the other country must not exceed 90 days per six months. Foreigners who come to Russia or South Korea for work or for study are not exempt from obtaining visas.
