The number of cruise passengers visiting South Korea surpassed 1.48 million in the first nine months of this year and is expected to break 2 million in 2016, the maritime ministry said Wednesday.

The Port of Jeju on the southern resort island welcomed the record number of 920,000 passengers as of September, and the southeastern port of Busan and the western port of Incheon had

430,000 and 120,000 passengers, respectively, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said.

The latest figure was up 130 percent from 2015 and 66 percent from 2014, as more Chinese travelers visited South Korea via cruise package programs.

As 236 cruise ships are scheduled to arrive in the three ports in the fourth quarter, the number of passengers is expected to surpass 2 million this year, the ministry said.

Considering cruise passengers spent $886 each on average during their stay last year, 2 million passengers are expected to create over 2 trillion won ($1.79 billion) worth of domestic consumption, it noted.

The ministry said the cruise industry is one of the fastest-growing sectors in Asia, pledging to step up overseas marketing efforts to attract more travelers. (Yonhap)