A group of 25,000 Chinese tourists will visit Korea next year, making the largest tour group to ever visit the country. It is twice the size of the previous record of 11,000 people sent by the health product firm Bao Jian Commodity in September 2011.

The Korea Tourism Organization said on Tuesday the Chinese branch of multinational direct-selling company Amway decided to send its distributors here to reward them for their good performances. It previously sent groups of around 10,000 top performers to Australia, Taiwan and the U.S.

They will be divided into eight sub-groups of 3,200 people, each of which will arrive on large cruise ships and make tours of Busan, Jeju and Yeosu for six days in May and June next year.

Amway China initially planned to include Japan as part of the travel itineraries but changed its mind amid an ongoing territorial dispute over uninhabited islands between China and Japan.