overseas card spending-2022 tally

Overseas card spending jumps 19 pct in 2022 on eased virus curbs

SEOUL, Feb. 28 (Yonhap) -- South Koreans' overseas card spending swelled nearly 19 percent in 2022 on the back of eased COVID-19 curbs, central bank data showed Tuesday.

The amount of money spent overseas by South Koreans with cards, including credit and debit cards, came to US$14.54 billion last year, up 18.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).

The 2022 tally represents a sharp increase from $10.31 billion in 2020, when the travel industry was hit the hardest by the COVID-19 lockdowns and from $12.23 billion in 2021, data showed.

The BOK said the overseas card spending grew as many countries eased their COVID-19 travel restrictions, such as the resumption of visa-free flights to Japan.

The number of South Korea's outbound travelers stood at 6.55 million in 2022, surging 5.3 times from 1.22 million from a year earlier, according to the data from the state-run Statistics Korea.

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