Rich Chinese tourists visiting the Jeju Island of South Korea have been bringing in  wealth as well as generating jobs in the resort island, with locals cashing in on the rising flow of  tourism in that part of the country.

As visitors from China continue to  drive up sales in Korea's southernmost island, Jeju, tensions among the locals who want a piece of the pie have been on the rise.

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Locals sometimes are resentful of the tourists and reports said scuffles between South Koreans and the Chinese occasionally break out in bars and shops.

China has reportedly invested a huge amount of money in purchasing land around the island, turning them into casinos, hotels, and condominiums.

This development was welcomed by local officials eager to boost the island economy amid the opposition by some  residents and other businesses.

Reports said land purchased by Chinese tourists and businesses on the island more than doubled last year. The island boasts of pristine white beaches, spectacular volcanic landscape,and clean air.

The change in South Korean policies includes an offer of permanent resident status to foreign investors on the island and  according them  the same medical, education, and employment benefits being enjoyed by the South Koreans.

As Chinese income continues to rise and travel restrictions have been relaxed, the Chinese were reportedly the world's largest outbound tourist travellers last year. Reports said the Chinese took more than 100 million overseas trips in 2014.

The CLSA research team said that it expects the figure to  double in 2020 in what could be  a potential economic boost to countries that  can attract the Chinese travellers to visit their places..

The number of Chinese visits to Jeju jumped 58 percent to  2.9 million travelers last year. This figure is almost half of the record  6.1 million Chinese who traveled to South Korea in 2014.

Reports said many factors contributed to the high number of Chinese visitors to South Korea, ranging from the popular Korean telenovelas and  pop music as well as the appreciation of the yuan and the visa-free policy.

Geography also plays a key role in luring the Chinese travelers into visiting the island. Jeju is just one hour flight  from Shanghai and 2/12 hours from Beijing.

TagsJeju Island, Chinese Tourists, Investments