Some 510,000 foreigners visited Korea through Airbnb last year

Airbnb, a platform that allows people to list, find and rent a range of bed-and-breakfast lodging options around the world, said Monday that 510,000 foreign tourists visited Korea throuth its reservations. This is a130 percent increase from 220,000 users recorded in 2015. If domestic travelers are included, Korean Airbin users total 1.01 million people.

　

Among 860,000 U.S. tourists who visited Korea last year, 83,000 came through Airbnb. "Backpack travelers who want to enjoy Korean culture use Airbnb while Chinese tourists are mostly group-oriented package users," an Airbnb source said.

Hyun-Seok Lim lhs@donga.com