Official beach season ends
30% fewer visitors this summer compared to last

Eleven local beaches officially closed for the season last Friday, and officials say far fewer people visited them this summer.

According to the province, 2,788,000 visitors were recorded ? 30.4% fewer than a year before.

The most popular beach was Hyeopjae, with 642,000 visitors. Next was Iho Beach with 439 thousand, Hamdeok Beach with 417,000, and Jungmun Beach with 261,000.

The provincial government will convene a meeting of its beach association next month to discuss operational problems and figure out ways of improving the experience for everyone.

해수욕장 폐장…이용객 급감

제주도내 11군데 해수욕장이 오늘(9월1일)자로 일제히 폐장한 가운데 이용객은 크게 줄어든 것으로 집계됐습니다.

제주특별자치도에 따르면 올 여름 해수욕장을 찾은 피서객은 278만 8천명으로 지난해에 비해 30.4% 줄었습니다.

해수욕장별로는 협재해수욕장이 64만 2천명으로 가장 많고 이호테우해수욕장 43만 9천명, 함덕 41만 7천명, 중문색달 26만 1천명 등입니다.

제주도는 다음달 해수욕장 협의회를 열고 운영상 문제점을 발굴하고 개선방안을 논의할 예정입니다.