Newly released figures show South Korea's tourism industry was hit hard in February by the spread of the novel coronavirus.

According to data from the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute on Thursday, South Korea posted tourism revenue of one-point-23 billion dollars in February, while tourism spending came to around two-point-six billion dollars.

It marks a decrease of 20 percent and 27 percent, respectively, from a year earlier. From a month earlier, revenue slipped 21 percent, while spending plunged 36 percent. 

The decrease is attributed to drops in the number of outbound South Korean travelers in February as more countries placed entry regulations on South Korea to contain the spread of COVID-19.  

The country's tourism deficit, however, narrowed to a ten-month low to 365 million dollars in February.