The number of non-working days in 2018 will be the same as this year, raising expectations of a continued boost in tourism and leisure industries, travel industry sources said Thursday.

Next year has 119 days off from work, with a few of them three to five days long if weekends are added at either ends. The Chuseok (harvest moon) holiday, for example, will be five days, while the Lunar New Year holiday will be four days.

By taking an extra day off from work, people can connect four holiday periods, including Christmas, to weekends.

"There will be the same number of non-working days next year, and plane tickets are likely to become cheaper from heavy competition among budget carriers," a Hana Tour official projected. "The volume of overseas travelers, especially young people, will likely see a big increase."

Travel agencies expect most of the trips will be short distance to nearby countries, including Japan and Southeast Asia.

A report out this month from the Korea Culture & Tourism Institute, which analyzed the effect of additional non-working days on tourism demand, estimated that each day off generates 43.22 billion won (US$38.07 million) in domestic spending and induces 71.4 billion won in production.

An analysis of the tourism market by securities companies estimated that 29.04 million people will travel overseas next year, an increase of 17.2 percent. (Yonhap)