Korean Air said it will add three more flights a week to Honolulu from Incheon International Airport starting June 12 in response to the growing popularity of Hawai'i as a vacation destination for South Koreans.

The flights, scheduled for Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, will boost Korean Air's capacity on the route by 780 seats a week.

Through the first three months of the year, a total of 20,211 South Koreans have visited Hawai'i, a 91 percent increase over the same period last year. The 54,957 South Koreans who visited Hawai'i in 2009 represented a 44 percent increase over 2008.

"We are excited by the additional service and feel it will boost arrivals and spending even further from this important market," said Mike McCartney, president and chief executive officer of the Hawai'i Tourism Authority.

The Hawai'i Tourism Authority and its contractor, Hawai'i Tourism Korea, have been working with the visitor industry to drive demand to travel to Hawai'i from the growing South Korean market through marketing campaigns and other programs.

Travel agents already are working on developing various Hawai'i tour products and packages for the South Korean market targeted at both the family and individual travelers, according to a news release from the HTA.

"Our plans for the additional flights to Hawai'i represent the great interest by Korean Air in Hawai'i, and Korean Air will work closely with the Hawai'i Tourism Authority and Hawai'i Tourism Korea to launch various public relations and marketing activities to aggressively promote the new flights," said Myung-Sun Hwang, managing vice president of Korean Air's regional headquarters.