More Koreans are traveling abroad despite the economic slowdown and a spate of terrorist attacks worldwide.

The number of Koreans who went overseas in the first half of the year reached 10.6 million, up 16.2 percent from a year ago, according to the Korean Tourism Organization.

Travel agencies expect a much steeper increase in outbound tourists during the summer holiday season, which is expected to last until the Sept. 14-16 Chuseok holiday this year.

On July 24, Incheon International Airport set a new record in passenger numbers, with more than 188,000 passengers using the airport on that day and surpassing the previous record of 181,000 in February.

The new record, however, is expected to be surpassed again on July 31 when more than 190,000 passengers are expected to leave and enter the nation through the airport.

The surge in outbound tourists is hardly good news to government officials who are grappling with the tough task of propping up the sagging domestic economy.

The more Koreans go abroad, the more they spend overseas, making it all the more difficult for economic officials to increase domestic consumption.

The Federation of Korean Industries estimate that Korean tourists spent a total of 42.4 trillion won abroad in 2014. This means if 10 percent of Korean outbound tourists travel instead to domestic destinations, they would boost domestic demand by 4.2 trillion won ($37.7 billion) a year.

The federation said the estimated increase in domestic demand would also add 55,000 new jobs to the economy.

To see how large the economic benefit is, one needs look no further than the government’s plan to create an 11 trillion-won ($9.64 billion) supplementary budget to create 65,000 jobs.

Despite the large role that domestic tourism can play in stimulating the economy, Korea falls far behind other countries in terms of the proportion of local travelers in the domestic tourism market.

The central government should run a campaign to promote domestic tourism. It needs to expand the tourism infrastructure and ease regulations on investment in the tourism industry.

To make domestic tourism more appealing, local governments need to upgrade their tourist facilities and develop products tailored to the needs of tourists. They also have to publicize tourism more aggressively.

Corporations also have a role to play. Earlier this month, the FKI signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on revitalizing domestic tourism.

The federation has sent a letter to its member companies asking them to encourage their executives and employees to spend their vacations in Korea.

Corporations could promote domestic tourism by introducing vacation spots to their employees and encouraging them to use recreational facilities they operate around the country.

Korea has suffered a chronic deficit in tourism balance of payments. Last year, the deficit went over $6 billion, the largest since 2007. To reduce this, the nation needs to make concerted efforts to enhance the appeal of domestic tourism for Koreans as well as foreign tourists.