Service sector output and spending posted the highest on-year growth on Jeju Island during the first quarter, in large part to Chinese tourists.
 
According to Statistics Korea data on service sector output and retail sales during the first three months of the year, released Thursday, the service sector output grew six-point-two percent on Jeju year-on-year, highest out of 16 cities and provinces nationwide. 
 
The national average was two-point-eight percent.
 
The island's retail sales in the first quarter also jumped ten-point-four percent from the same period last year, well above the four and a half percent national average.
 
An official at Statistics Korea attributed the results to a rise in Chinese tourists and also an increase in Jeju's own population.
 
Some 404-thousand Chinese tourists visited the scenic island through Jeju International Airport between January and March, up 39 percent year-on-year.