The number of foreign visitors to South Korea plunged 41 percent in June, data showed Tuesday, as they canceled their planned trips to the Asian country amid an outbreak of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome.
  

The number of tourists from abroad came to 750,925 in June, down from the 1.27 million tallied a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Korea Tourism Organization.
  

By region, travelers from Taiwan and Hong Kong plunged by 75.7 percent and 74.6 percent, respectively, followed by Singapore with a drop of 62.3 percent.
  

The number of travelers from China, the No. 1 spenders for South Korea's tourism industry, nearly halved, falling 45.1 percent, and those from Japan also plummeted 41.5 percent, the KTO data showed.
  

The decrease was due largely to the MERS outbreak, which has claimed 36 lives and resulted in 186 people being diagnosed with the viral disease so far, according to the government.
  

"Last month, foreign tourists, including those from China, avoided coming to South Korea in the wake of the MERS scare," a KTO official said. "Should this trend continue, it will be difficult to accomplish this year's goal of having 16.2 million foreigners visit the country."
  

Outbound travelers, in contrast, saw an on-year rise in June, as the number gained 8.1 percent to 1.37 million last month, according to the data. (Yonhap)