Passenger arrivals in the South Korean port of Pyeongtaek fell rapidly in the aftermath of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak.
Pyeongtaek, being the nearest South Korean port to China, had benefited from the growing number of Chinese going on cruise holidays.
However, the outbreak, which has caused several cruise operators to cancel calls at South Korean ports, has adversely affected Pyeongtaek, a prime destination for ro-ro passenger ferries.
Pyeongtaek Regional Oceans and Fisheries Administration said 30,825 passengers passed through Pyeongtaek in June, down 32.3% from the 45,521 passengers who went through the port in May.
Of the passenger arrivals in June, 16,518 were foreigners, down 45.4% from the 30,277 foreigners who arrived in Pyeongtaek in May.
Passenger arrivals were also down year on year (y/y).
In June 2014, 32,631 passengers passed through Pyeongtaek. Of these, 16,742 were foreigners.
For the entire first half of 2015, however, passenger arrivals in Pyeongtaek are higher y/y. The period saw 260,234 passenger arrivals, up 13% from the 229,543 passenger arrivals in the first half of 2014.
The number of foreigners travelling to Pyeongtaek on ro-ro passenger ferries has been growing, from 123,663 such passengers in the first half of 2014 to 165,167 foreign visitors in the first half of 2015.
This post was sourced from IHS Maritime 360: View the original article here.
